Melody of the Past
by MelodicCrescendo
Summary: Danielle BellRose is sick. She has to have surgery but there is no guarantee that she'll survive. Her family asked what she wanted in case she didn't survive, now she's at the Royal Albert Hall about to see the 25th Anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera. When she gets hurled back in time and finds she's in the Opera Populaire, can she show the Phantom real happiness? Erik/OC
1. Chapter 1

I looked up at the Royal Albert Hall as my taxi came to a stop out front. I was at least four hours early and I hardly paid attention to the gruff voice of the driver as I grabbed my backpack and jumped out, paying him on the way. I couldn't believe it! My dream was coming true. I was finally able to see the play version of The Phantom of the Opera and I was going to be able to meet my operatic hero Sarah Brightman. If this wasn't a 'going into surgery present' I couldn't be happier.

I thought of the heart surgery I was going to have in a month and the laughter seemed to bleed out of me. There was no certainty that I'd survive and my brothers decided to ask me what I wanted most in the world to do and I said I wanted to see the 25th Anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera. I don't know how, but they got me in to meet the actors and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sarah Brightman was really a bonus, they said the day I was going she was going to appear in a rendition of the title song and I could meet her after the show. I had come four hours early so I could watch the makeup process for Ramin.

I looked down at the blue chiton style dress I was wearing and the black jacket I wore over it. I had spent weeks planning this outfit. Long blue dress, black jacket, silver jewelry and blue close toed satin pin heels. I adjusted the silver belt and black stockings, pulling up the garter belt. I always wore stockings instead of tights so I could conceal the flask in the strap under my dress. I smiled when my hand knocked against it. A few sips a day and I can manage the pain that my heart caused me. Being heart sick sucks balls.

I shook myself as memories of the past tried to get me. No time to think of that crap now. I walked in to the entrance hall and my voice caught in my throat. It was beautiful; old building beautiful. It had the class of Notre Dame and made me think of the Opera Populaire in the movie Phantom of the Opera. I asked a passing stage hand how to get backstage.

"You just have to go through that door and down a hall, then turn left." I thanked him and walked over where he pointed me. I opened the door and walked down a seemingly endless hall, a door jumped out at me from the dim light. I stopped and stared at it. I could feel my heart speed up and my knees weaken. I was about to meet Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess and whoever else was backstage. I felt like a coin in a tin box, I was rattling so hard. Oh my God, I'm scared. I wanted them to like me so I made a quick mental check list of what not to do.

No dirty jokes or Chuck Norris jokes, well, maybe Chuck jokes are okay. No swearing; that would be hard, I thought, I swear as much as any normal teen; every other sentence. Okay, I'm ready. I opened the doors and walked into a circular hallway. I was still feeling nervous as hell about meeting the cast to my favorite story. I heard voices coming from an open door and walked over to see who it was.

"...I mean I can't believe that we're finally going to perform this, it seems like only yesterday the calls were going out to cast." I knocked on the door and everyone turned to face me. Fuck. I could feel the smile I always wore when I was embarrassed slide onto my face. I'm so glad I'm too dark to blush, now if only I could do something about this dopey grin...  
"Hi, I'm Danielle BellRose. I'm the person who's going to be shadowing around backstage for a while and um I can't wait to see the prosthetics process for the Phantom." They looked at each other in surprise. Shit I felt awkward. Sierra came up to me with a smile on her face and held out her hand.

"Hi, my name's Sierra and I'm going to be playing Christine in the show today, it's really nice to meet you." I felt the coil in my stomach ease as she introduced everyone. "This is Liz, she's going to be our Madame Giry." I smiled at her and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you. It must be fun to play madame Giry, she's such an authoritative character to portray." She grinned at me, seeing that I took characters seriously.

"Yes, I always love how all I have to do is bang the cane against the ground and all the little ballerinas fall into line, it makes me feel all powerful." She laughed like an evil queen for a second but quickly broke into a fit of actual laughter as I cracked up.

"I'm Hadley Fraser and I'm Raoul." I shook his hand.

"How does it feel to know everyone in the audience thinks you're a drunken fop?" Did I really just say that? Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Not good. I mean, Raoul is only trying to help the girl he loves because he wants to spend the rest of his life with her." He laughed and I felt compelled to try and smooth things out.

"I think Raoul's a good character. In the book, after Christine leaves him, the Phantom dies, since Leroux wrote that I don't really think Raoul turned into a drunk or that Christine would have some spontaneous change of heart and done the horizontal monster mash with the Phantom while she had Raoul. Especially because of the ending of the movie where you saw Christine's grave and Raoul was there giving her the music box. I like to think they had long happy lives together." God dammit, I was rambling.

"So what did you think of Love Never Dies then?" A voice came from behind me. I turned around to see Ramin Karimloo standing right behind me.

"There is no way to find fault with the music, it's just the story that needs to be crushed like a giant spider. Webber outdid so many playwrights when he created Phantom of the Opera and it could stand alone without any crutches. It's like Shock Treatment and Rocky Horror; it's so perfect it's an insult to try and add more." Ramin smiled, I could see his shoulders move as he held in laughs. A horrible thought came to mind. "PLEASE don't tell Andrew Webber I said this!"

Ramin outright laughed then. They all did. I could feel shame and embarrassment burning in my heart. "We won't tell, we kind of feel the same. Why make a sequel when that's the end of the book? It was fun to put on but still." He shook his head. Relief washed over me. I was so glad they weren't laughing at me. A lady in black cloths came into the room and told Ramin he needed to get in the chair. He told her he would be there in a minute.

"Can I watch the makeup process?" I asked bouncing up and down so you could hear the things in my backpack jiggling.

"Sure." We walked out of the room and I waved goodbye to the others, knowing I'd be back in a while. "What's in that? It sounds like you're carrying a house in there." He pointed to my back pack.

"Everything I need encase I get lost. A lot of spare clothes, my makeup, a book, my camera, a map of London, my toiletries, extra money and medicine." I think I had two pairs of jeans, a dress, three pairs of socks, I couple pairs of underwear and bras.

"All of that? Isn't that a little paranoid?" He sat in the chair and waited for the lady to start.

"No, this is my first time traveling alone and I want to be prepared." I sat watching the lady work on Ramin's face for a while, I was in awe of how she could make someone look so different with makeup. "Oh my God, just thought of something!" The makeup lady cast me a quick glance and went back to work while Ramin looked at me expectantly. "Your name's Ramin, like the noodles! Ha!" I laughed hard at my own poor joke. Ramin rolled his eyes. "That's what I'm going to call you forever now, Noodles."

"Nice, I'll have to come up with something ridiculous to call you too now." He grinned maliciously as he could while being prodded with makeup.

"Have fun with that, I'm going to go look around the stage." I slung my pack over my shoulder and walked out. I found the stage easily. No one was on it, and I couldn't believe my luck. I walked out to centre stage and took a deep breath, Imagining I was in the Opera Populaire and I was performing for the Phantom himself. Erik.

"_Tanto tempo fa,_  
_Un uccello fatale di nome,_  
_Chromaggia,_  
_Incrociò in volo la freccia di un,_  
_Arciere,_  
_Lungo le coste di lava,_  
_Per anni, pensando di essere,_  
_Inseguita,_  
_Scappò dalla freccia,_  
_Chromaggia, Chromaggia,_  
_Perché non affronti il pericolo?_  
_La freccia era legata all'ala,_  
_E lei volva per liberarsene,_

_Tirando la freccia,_  
_Altri son ferriti per mia colpa,_  
_Mia colpa,_

_Giú! Verso la bocca del diavolo!_  
_La sua freccia, I miei occhi._  
_Chromaggia, come take these eyes... !_  
_I would rather be blind!"_

I covered my eyes at the end of the song. I knew I had struck every note right; I was happy that I always improved with my music lessons every time I went. I always wanted to sing like Sarah Brightman and when I thought of meeting my idol and hero Sarah, I hope I don't start to cry when that happens. The sound of clapping brought me back from my daydreams.

"Brava, brava, bravissima." I looked up and around but found no one.

"Hello? Is someone there?" I was embarrassed at the fact that someone heard me sing.

"I am here," said a beautiful velvet voice. I still saw no one.

"Who are you?" I said.

"I am the Angel of Music, I have heard you sing and I am quite impressed. I would love to help you further develop your voice." I was in shock. Angel of Music?

"Very funny Ramin but I'm not falling for that." I knew he was trying to get back at me for the Noodles thing.

"I know not of who you speak, I am the Angel that watches over the singers with true talent and you have it." The voice said simply.

"Well thank you but I just don't see..." I stopped, hearing something so out of place I almost jumped when I identified it. "Why do I hear horses? And carts?"

"That's the standard way of getting to where people need to go." The voice sounded confused.

"Okay, I'm not buying that. Who rides horses and carts while we have cars in 2011 besides the Amish?" Dread was building inside of me.

"What are you talking about? It's 1871."

"No. No way am I believing you." I walked out of the theater as panic built in me. Everything was different. There were gold buttresses and a grand marble staircase. I didn't give up hope that it was an elaborate joke until I flung open the door. There were horses and people dressed in old fashioned clothes everywhere. I closed the door, shock stiffening my limbs.

"Are you quite alright?" My jaw moved as I tried to form words but my voice wouldn't work. The world tilted and I knew I was going to pass out. Suddenly a black clad figure was behind me and picked me up bridal style. The last thing I saw was a white porcelain mask.

**OKAY I want to thank you for reading this story, who knows what'll happen to Danielle next ;)**

**Characters belong to Leroux and Webber, Actors belong to themselves and Danielle belongs to me.**

**The song belongs to the creators of Reop! The Genetic Opera.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

I slowly faded into consciousness, the first thing I was aware of was that two people were in the room with me.

"The poor girl, the Phantom must have gotten her, if madame Giry hadn't found her there's no telling what that Phantom would have done to her." The other voice sighed.

"And the manager wonders why we're afraid to go into box 5. 'He won't touch you' he said 'He'll leave you alone if you do your work', well we can't work when we've found men dead by the Phantom's hand, now can we?" They went on talking about the Phantom. I groaned. I really am in The Phantom of the Opera.

"Look Anne, the girl's waking up. We should get Madame Giry." They bustled out of the door and their footsteps echoed down the hall. How? How did I get here? I was singing on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall, thinking of singing for Erik and then somehow I was. How could this even be remotely possible?

Wait. Right before I passed out I saw someone dressed in black and a white mask. Erik had caught me. Not to mention he was trying the 'Angel of Music' thing on me. I opened my eyes and sat up. My bag was next to my bed, looking at it I knew no one had looked inside; whoever was looking after me had been kind enough not to go through my things. I shifted to bend down and get my medicine out of my side pocket and felt the slosh of my flask against my thigh. Every time I remembered it was there I always smiled. I popped a pill in my mouth and washed it down with a drink from my flask. I grimaced at the taste, hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol. Footsteps approached the room I was in, fast accompanied by the clack of a cane on the ground. My God; it was Madame Giry.

"I see you are awake mademoiselle. How are you feeling." She walked towards me, Meg and Christine in tow. I almost dropped my jaw. They all looked like they had in the movie; Christine is the spitting image of Emmy Rossum with blue eyes. Meg's hair was curlier but still the same face. Madame Giry was the same as I knew she looked in the movie, eyes like ice looked at me with concern.

"I'm glad to see you're alright. My name is Meg and this is Christine. We're dancers in the chorus here at the Opera Populaire." Meg said and extended her hand, which I shook.

"Good to meet you." Christine smiled at me as I shook her hand as well.

"I'm fine, but how did I get here?" I knew Erik had brought me somewhere, but I wanted to know if he had just dumped me and left.

"I found you passed out just inside the front door and I brought you here. You are lucky that you did not hit your head when you fainted. Who are you and what are you doing here?" I had to make something up fast. I knew that these times weren't good for women and I was here for a reason, I knew it.

"My name is Danielle BellRose, I was at a concert hall when, somehow, I found myself on the stage of this place, when I went to check where I was out the front door and found that I was in Paris. I was so shocked that I passed out. I'm sorry to cause you any inconvenience." Again I was on my best behavior, trying to make Madame Giry see that I had nowhere else to go.

"That is impossible, how could one simply transport to one place from another so spontaneously?" I'm sure she thought I was making this up. They would think I was crazy and they would send me to one of the asylums we read about in history class.

"No, really!" I pulled my camera and showed it to her. She stared at it as though I was offering her a banana after a crappy joke. "This is a modern camera, from 2011, where I'm from. I'm not lying. I was in the Royal Albert Hall in London, singing on the stage before the performance when I opened my eyes, I was here." I turned the camera on and took a photo of a very surprised Madame Giry. I turned the camera around and showed it to her.

"My God, you were telling the truth." She put a hand to her chest. Meg ran to her mother, making sure she was okay. "Meg, Christine, go fetch some water and food for our guest." They looked puzzled but complied. As soon as they left the room I leaned forward and hugged Madame Giry to whisper in her ear.

"I was never lying. For an even better point I know. I know all about Erik." She stiffened. "Where I come from everyone knows who he is and his story. Erik hides a deformity with a mask and he is now the Phantom of the Opera. I would never tell anyone how to find him, but I need you to help me like you did him. Please." I begged one last time before pulling away. She gave me a hard look.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you." She took my hand and rubbed her thumb over my knuckles. I missed this kind of comfort, the kind only a mother could give. God how I missed my mom sometimes.

"Madame Giry?"

"Yes?"

"Right before I passed out, when I found myself on the stage of the theater, I heard a voice. From above. It said it was the Angel of Music, was it telling the truth? Does the Angel of Music really speak to the singers here?" She knew I was putting on an act encase the Phantom had decided to check up on me.

"Yes, the Angel of Music is here. He teaches a select few, but he is the best teacher around." She smiled at me. Christine and Meg entered the room with a plate of food and a jug of water.

"Is it true then? You really are from the future?" Meg leaned in close.

"Yup. Did you know in the year 1969 the USA sent men to the moon and they even came all the way back?" Their eyes widened. My first thought was to take advantage of their cluelessness and make up a bunch of crazy shit just to see how they'd react.

"Oh my! Who was he?" Christine leaned forward. They seemed to innocent any normal person would feel guilty of pranking them. Good thing I wasn't a normal person.

"Lance Armstrong." It was all I could do to not laugh. God forgive me for being such a liar. They had suck wonder on their faces I almost felt bad for telling them a bicyclist went to the moon. Well, more fun for me. The door opened again and the manager Monsieur Lefèvre came in.

"Ah, so our little mystery guest is awake. Why was I not informed?" He spoke directly to Madame Giry. In the movie she seemed like a second in command, I could only assume that she advised him about what to do with the Phantom. I wonder how long it is until he sells the Opera and leaves Andre and Firmin to destroy the theater?

"She only just awoke and I thought it best that she had something to eat before she fainted again." Madame Giry's voice was clipped, sounding like it was the obvious thing to do.

"Sir, I am very grateful that you've taken care of me. I'm sorry if I caused any worry." I said quickly, in case Lefèvre got mad at Madame Giry.

"You are most welcome, but you must contact your family to come get you, I'm sure they're worried by now; you've been unconscious for over two hours." He turned to leave when I called to him.

"I have nowhere else to go, I wasn't even sure where I was until a few minutes ago. I don't have any family and I don't know how I got here to begin with." I was so worried that he was going to throw me out onto the street and I'd have to sell my body to eat and find a place to stay. I had no money that could work here to begin with.

"I suppose we could add you to the chorus, but I'm not sure our audience would like to see a girl with such dark skin on stage along with all the pretty white girls." My mouth hung open. Being half black was going to get me a lot of shit in this era. It's not that I looked very black, only my skin was a light chestnut, and my lips were fuller than they would be if I was white, I didn't have my mothers proud high forehead or her graceful bone structure. Most people think I'm Brazilian with my dark brown hair falling in waves like the ocean down to my hips. I am proud of my roots and my chocolate brown eyes that reflect the African in me.

"Monsieur I'm sure you meant no offense but where I come from our dark skin is a sign of beauty. I understand it is not like that here and that girls with fair skin are beautiful but I have also considered myself a beauty." I tried not to let the anger I felt show in my voice. I wanted to slap him, how dare he say I wasn't as beautiful as the chorus girls because I was made dark?

"I do apologize but our audience wants to see girls they consider beautiful. I don't think we have a place for you here..." I felt desperation rise in my body. I'll, I'll..." I searched my head for something that I could do to make him keep me. "I'll clean box 5!" I blurted out as he turned again to leave. That stopped him dead in his tracks. "I heard some people talking about how they're afraid the Phantom will get them but I'm not! I'll go in there to clean every day and not complain." I looked up at him with pleading eyes. _Those pleading eyes that both threaten and adore. _I was surprised I could think of such a trivial song line at a time when my dignity hung in the balance.

"Alright, but it's your head if the Phantom is displeased with how you work. I'm not to receive another letter complaining about the upkeep of his box as long as you are in this theater, agreed?" He held out his hand to me and I took it.

"Agreed."

"Madame Giry please find accommodations for our new employee. I'm sure you can find an empty bed in the ballet dormitories." And with that he was gone. I let a sigh of relief escape my lips. I looked around and noticed that sometime during my exchange with Lefèvre Christine and Meg slipped out. Lucky. I turned to Madame Giry.

"That was doing whatever you could to help me?" I laughed a bit.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't think of anything to say to make his reconsider throwing you out. The only one who's judgement overrules Lefèvre's is the Phantom's." Madame Giry solemnly looked around and I understood that no matter where I was in this opera house, no matter how well hidden I might think I am, He could always be watching me. And right now, I was almost sure he was.

"I'm going back to the stage to look around, maybe I can find the reason I transported here to begin with." I got out of the narrow bed and put my shoes on. If I'd be working here I'd need to get new clothes fast. Madame Giry seemed to read my mind.

"Let's get you into something a little less conspicuous." She went over to a closet and pulled out a corset, a small brown dress and a white apron. I knew there was torture involved when the corset was slipped on. Damn to hell whoever thought that this was a good idea.

After being constricted to death by the torture device known to humanity as the corset and sent out in a drab brown dress I slowly made my way to the stage. No wonder women were big on swooning in this era. I stood in the same spot I appeared in and looked around. There was nothing that could cause me to go back in time into a FICTIONAL universe. The only thing I could think was 'opera is old, maybe that's why it brought me here.' I decided to sing a recent song to try and get back to my world.

"_This life don't last forever (hold my hand)_  
_So tell me what we're waiting for (hold my hand)_  
_We're Better off being together (hold my hand)_  
_Than being miserable alone (hold my hand)_  
_Cause I've been there before_  
_And you've been there before_  
_But together we can be alright._  
_Cause when it gets dark and when it gets cold_  
_We hold each other till we see the sunlight_  
_So if you just_  
_Hold my hand_  
_Baby I promise that I'll do_  
_All I can_  
_Things will get better if you just hold my hand_  
_Nothing can come between us if you just hold,_  
_hold my, hold, hold my, hold, hold my hand._  
_(Hold my hand)_  
_The nights are getting darker (hold my hand)_  
_And there's no peace inside (hold my hand)_  
_So why make our lives harder (hold my hand)_  
_By fighting love, tonight._  
_Cause I've been there before_  
_And you've been there before_  
_But together we can be alright (alright)_  
_Cause when it gets dark and when it gets cold_  
_We hold each other till we see the sunlight_  
_So if you just hold my hand_  
_Baby I promise that I'll do (If you just, If you just)_  
_All I can_  
_Things will get better if you just hold my hand (yeah)_  
_Nothing can come between us if you just hold,_  
_hold my, hold, hold my, hold, hold my hand._  
_Hold my hand_  
_I can tell you're tired of being lonely (yeah)_  
_Take my hand don't let go baby hold me (hold me)_  
_Come to me and let me be your one and only (hold my hand)_  
_So I can make it alright til' the morning (hold my hand)_  
_I can tell you're tired of being lonely (hold my hand)_  
_Take my hand don't let go baby hold me (hold me)_  
_Come to me and let me be your one and only (one and only)_  
_So I can make it alright til' the morning (hold my hand)_  
_Hold my hand_  
_Hold my hand (yeah)_  
_Baby I promise (hold my hand) that I'll do_  
_All I can (hold my hand)_  
_Things will get better (oohhhoo) if you just hold my hand (oooo)_  
_Nothing can come between us if you just hold,_  
_hold my, hold, hold my, hold, hold my hand._  
_Hold my hand_  
_Baby I promise that I'll do_  
_All I can (hold my hand)_  
_Things will get better if you just hold my hand_  
_Nothing can come between us if you just hold,_  
_hold my, hold, hold my, hold, hold my hand._  
_Hold my hand._"

I Had closed my eyes and prayed when the song was over I'd be standing where I was in the Royal Albert Hall. My eyes opened. No such luck. I somehow maneuvered myself into a sitting position. A ghostly voice flooded the hall.

"Brava, brava, bravissima." Erik was calling to me again. I felt a smile play at my lips.

"Is it the Angel of Music come back to haunt me?" I spoke out loud. Wherever Erik was hiding I couldn't see him.

"Have you calmed down some?" Erik asked

"Yeah, turns out I time traveled. But you can't really blame me for freaking out after you said I was talking to an angel. The only time I expected to speak to angels was when I was going to die." Which could be anytime now.

"Have you considered my offer?" Who would need to ponder that question. Anyone with operatic training would want to be taught by the Phantom.

"It'd be my honor." I said smiling up at the ceiling.

"Come to the chapel tomorrow night for your first lesson." I think he left then. Well, I had a date with a ghost.

**Well, this is a nice turn of events. As ever only Danielle belongs to me, Hold My Hand belongs to Michael Jackson and the Phantom and his crew belong to Leroux and Webber.**


	3. Chapter 3

Erik

Her voice was beautiful, like an angel sent from God. I had been making my round of the catwalks, making sure all the riggings were secure and properly labeled; with this team of stage hands there was always a piece of work left forgotten, when I had secured the rope for a particularly large piece of backdrop, thinking I'd need to send a letter to my manager her voice faded into the opera, floating around me in a swirl of soft high notes. For a moment I stood transfixed,wondering if I had fallen from the catwalk while fixing the rope and gone to heaven. For a moment I felt my heart life with peace, peace! The thing that had been denied me the day my mother gifted me my first mask.

"_Chromaggia, come take these eyes... !_  
_I would rather be blind!"_

The note reached high and fell as she denounced her sight as though it had betrayed her in the worst fashion. I half stepped to the side as the final notes faded to capture a glimpse of this earth bound angel. She held her hands in front of her eyes to simulate blindness as she stood downstage center in the oddest dress I had ever seen.

"Brava, brava, bravissima." I caught myself praising her and clapped my hands together. As my voice reached her ears her eyes snapped open and she turned, searching for who spoke. I was able to see her face at last in detail instead of guess. Her skin was dark, like the chocolate Antoinette used to give me to calm my nightmares. Her waist length dark brown hair swung in waves as her head looked from side to side.

"Hello? Is someone there?" She called to the emptiness of the opera house. Only the manager, Madam Giry, a few cleaners and myself stayed in today, most were enjoying the day off. Knowing only she would hear me I responded.

"I am here." Confusion clouded her features. Though she was not fair like my Christine her beauty was equal. She could not be from Africa, those who were brought here were darker, their hair curlier and their foreheads high.

"Who are you." she called back, trying to sound as brave as she could. Not ready to reveal myself as the Phantom of the Opera I decided I would be the Angel of Music to her as well.

"I am the Angel of Music, I have heard you sing and I am quite impressed. I would love to help you further develop your voice." Shock and disbelief played over her face before it turned into the mask of composure.

"Very funny Ramin but I'm not falling for that." She called back as if I had made a poor joke and she was too smart to believe it. Ramin? I had never heard the name. Surely there had been no new hired hands without my knowing?  
"I know not of who you speak, I am the Angel that watches over the singers with true talent and you have it." Pretending to be an angel had worked on Christine, though this girl didn't seem to believe me.

"Well thank you but I just don't see..." She stopped abruptly and looked around as if seeing the opera for the first time. Again shock made her eyes go wide as her lips fought to form words. "Why do I hear horses? And carts?" I looked down at her confused.

"That's the standard way of getting to where people need to go." How could she not know? Everyone who had ever walked down the street knew that horses and carts were constantly moving over the cobblestone. Defiance was the next emotion I was graced with.

"Okay, I'm not buying that. Who rides horses and carts while we have cars in 2011 besides the Amish?" Amish? What was that? This girl was acting stranger than the clothing she was wearing or the bag she was carrying. 2011? Was she sick? Or crazy?

"What are you talking about? It's 1871." She seemed to stagger for a moment as the impact of my words hit her.

"No. No way am I believing you." Her voice came strong and defiant as her face as she turned and ran for the door. Under the tone of defiance came a slight edge of hysteria. I grabbed a hanging rope and slid to the floor, deciding to go after her. I silently followed her out of the opera hall and watched her glide down the staircase, opening the front door to look out. I hid behind a statue in the entrance hall. She slowly closed the door with the an unreadable expression on her face.

"Are you quite alright?" I projected my voice so she wouldn't be able to tell where it was coming from. Again her lips couldn't form words. Suddenly she closed her eyes and slipped into a faint. I rushed over to catch her and picked her up. I was going to have to turn her over to Madame Giry if I didn't want to blow my cover.

I quickly made my way over to Antoinette's office where I knew she'd be working on the choreography to the new production of _Faust_. I threw the girl over my shoulder and opened the door. Antoinette was sitting at her desk with a pen and the script in front of her. When I opened the door she looked up. Upon seeing me with an unconscious woman in my arms she jumped up and ran over to me.

"What happened? Who is she?" I knew she suspected I had something to do with her being unconscious but she kept silent about it.

"I don't know who she is or how she got here. I was on the catwalks checking on the ropes and sets when I heard her singing on the stage. I thought she might be a replacement for that insufferable Carlotta but when I looked down I knew there was something strange about her. I decided to talk to her. When she asked who I was I told her I was the Angel of Music though she didn't seem to believe me. She said it was 2011 and ran to the door when I told her it was 1871. When she looked out she fainted so I brought her to you. I can't take her to my home if I wish to teach her to sing, I need her trust." I lay her down on the bed in the corner of Antoinette's office which she kept encase of late nights and turned to go. "When she wakes up tell her you found her and brought her here." I turned to leave, missing the warmth of another against me.

"What are you planning for her Erik?" Antoinette whispered as I left the room. Let her think what she may, I thought, I will have this girl's voice.

It had been over two hours since I had brought the girl to Madame Giry, she must be awake by now. I pulled on my cloak and walked from my home to the upstairs world. I worked my way through the secret tunnels that lead to Madame Giry's office, just as I looked through the hole in the molding to see if the girl was up I heard a breathless shriek. Frantically I pressed my eye to the hole to see this girl staggering away from Giry in her underclothes like her life depended on it. I looked away from the room so she could finish dressing.

"Why in God's name do you people put up with these medieval torture devices? I can't even breathe, much less sing!" I heard her taking a few gasping breaths. "Pretty soon my ribs are going to be all deformed and puncture my lungs!" Such drama. I could almost laugh, I had thought he'd been in real danger.

"It is not as bad as you are making it out to be, every woman in this era has a corset on." Giry shook her head. When I looked around I saw that the girl had on a drab brown dress fitted around her body with tight long sleeves and a white apron, I guessed that she would be part of the cleaning staff. It was a shame she could not have something nicer to wear, maybe once she saved her money. She made her way out of the room and I decided to drop in on Antoinette and see what I had missed.

"Madame Giry tell me what is happening to this girl."

"Her name is Danielle, she doesn't have any family or a place to go, so Monsieur Lefèvre  
agreed for her could say here and clean box 5." I smiled. She had guts to say the least. "She isn't from here, not by a long shot. You remember, I trust, when you said you suddenly heard her voice on the stage?" I nodded. "She has come here from the future."

"Impossible." Time travel was so farfetched I was surprised that Madame Giry fell for it. "She must be sick."

"Erik, think! She said that she was from 2011, she appeared out of nowhere, she-she had proof, Erik. She took my photo with a strange looking camera only the size of my hand! She is lost and must be scared, try not to frighten her." I nodded.

"Where is she going now?"

"Back to where you found her, I think she's trying to get home." I got back into the passage and walked to the catwalks above the stage. When I arrived she had started on another song. Again her eyes were closed. I let myself relax and listen to her new song. Now she wasn't using her opera singing voice it seemed deep and rich, the lyrics gave it the feel of a love song, the promise of forgiveness. As the last notes faded out I heard a small sigh and watched her struggle to get into a sitting position in the middle of the stage, it was almost comical how she moved in her dress like there were needles in it.

"Brava, brava, bravissima." I called down to her. This time she didn't jump up and look around but by the way her head tilted I could tell she was smiling.

"Is it the Angel of Music come back to haunt me?" She didn't know how fitting that description was.

"Have you calmed down some?"

"Yeah, turns out I time traveled. But you can't really blame me for freaking out after you said I was talking to an angel. The only time I expected to speak to angels was when I was going to die." I had little doubt left that she was simply crazy. That only left the question of how she got here.

"Have you considered my offer?" I don't know why I felt such a need to train her voice but I felt I needed to; maybe she could get small parts in upcoming productions, maybe she could get the leads; God knows Carlotta needed getting rid of.

"It'd be my honor." Triumph ran through my veins.

"Come to the chapel tomorrow night for your first lesson." I walked off the catwalks before she could reply, deciding to prepare for our first lesson.

Danielle

Christine and Meg brought me to the ballerina dormitories and Helped me set up a bed with fresh sheets. I hid my backpack underneath praying no one would be so nosy as to look through my stuff. I only thought that the only person bitchy enough to do that was La Carlotta and she didn't live there.

"I hope you'll be comfortable here, Christine and I will be just across the room if you need anything." Meg pointed to two bed against the far wall underneath a window.

"I'm sure I'll be fine." Again I had to maneuver myself into a sitting position. Meg and Christine noticed my attempt to sit on my bed and laughed.

"Why are you having such a hard time sitting down? Is there something poking you in your dress?" Christine laughed.

"No, it's this damned corset. What ass decided to make this torture method, it's frickin' tougher than Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee put together!" I clawed at the top of my dress, trying to loosen the ties.

"Who's Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee?" Meg asked. "Are they more space men?" They leaned close to me, like what what I was about to tell them was top secret.

"No, they're famous for their fighting skill. Bruce Lee was a master at martial arts, I once heard he was able to light little matches with the ends of his nunchucks. And Chuck Norris, well, let's just say you don't want to piss him off. Bad things happen." They seemed so entranced. "It's sad Bruce Lee died so early, he was only 32." I sighed and shook my head.

"The future sounds so interesting. You have to tell us all about it!" Meg nodded in agreement.

"I don't know, it might end up drastically changing the future as I know it, well, it's the future for you and past for me." Okay this shit was getting complicated for me. "I guess just when 1910 comes around or even sooner if you aren't dead yet, go to Switzerland or Spain, maybe even Persia, just don't be around here, shit will go down. Very bad shit." They blushed. I started to wonder why, then I remembered that women didn't swear like me in this day and age. I'm going to have to remember that. "Sorry, probably not used to sailor talk."

"Yes, my mother says if she ever caught us saying swears she'll skin us alive." Meg shuddered. I felt somewhat jealous. It must be nice having your mother around. "It is," Meg said.

"Did I say that out loud?" I said, surprised. Shit like that actually happened?

"Yes, what happened to your mother?"Christine put her hand on my arm. I could feel my soul shut down.

"She died when I was little." I leaned over my bed and fished a little box out from the front pocket of my backpack. "This was her." I opened it and on a little felt heart was a cutout of my mom's face. I could see their surprise as the took in the small gap in her teeth and her dreadlocks and her high forehead with skin like mine. "She gave that to me on my first day of kindergarten so I wouldn't miss her as much. That was about twelve years ago."

"I'm sorry if talking about her made you upset." Upset? It feels like my heart was ripped out, I miss her so much.

"It's okay, it happened a long time ago." Liar. Fuck off brain, you're not helping.

"Both my parents are gone too, Danielle, I know how it feels." Again Christine put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I knew she missed her father a lot so I did know she knew how I felt.

"My father's gone too. Mother doesn't like to talk about him much because she still misses him now as much as she did then."

"I guess we are the unlucky." I let out a little laugh. "I know about your father Christine. He was a violinist, people remember him in the future." Christine looked at me with wide eyes. Shit, should not have said that.

"Really? Oh really? If father remembered well?"

"Yeah, I can't tell you the details but people know him AND you Christine; Little Lotte let her mind wonder." She looked so happy when I recited that little bit of a story her father read to her.

I looked at the clock and realized we'd been talking for awhile, it was 7 o'clock. Time to eat.

"We must get dinner before everyone eats it." We left the room and went down the hall to the kitchen.

"Where is everyone anyway?" I asked.

"We have a few days off before we start our next performance," Meg said. Christine still looked a bit dreamy from what I'd told her. "The next play is _Faust_."

"I've never heard of it but I'll make sure to watch the rehearsals and come see it when it's done." We entered the kitchen where the few people still in the opera were sitting down to dinner. "When I'm done cleaning the Opera Ghosts box." The look on the others faces were priceless.

When dinner was over Meg, Christine and I went to get ready for bed. They tried to get me into an equally uncomfortable looking nightgown.

"No," I said slipping on an over sized Michael Jackson t shirt with a pair of shorts.

"Do you usually wear that to bed?" Meg looked at my cloths with an unsure gaze.

"I sleep naked; since I was traveling I decided to wear something to bed encase of nosy cleaning crew members." Both Meg and Christine blushed when I said I sleep naked. "I'll take that as an 'it's unacceptable'." I laughed. We said goodnight and they went to bed and fell asleep and I slipped out of the room and made my way down to the chapel, thanking God that I had remembered to ask them where it was.

"Hello?" I called softly, hoping that it wasn't just a dream.

"Come, come, we need to begin." Erik sang to me. I quickly walked to the altar and kneeled down. "I want you to listen to me and repeat the song. It is called _Psyche_ from the play _Amor Und Psyche._" I smiled.

"I love that story."

"As do I. Listen carefully." His voice was hypnotic and when he finished I found I could remember all the words. "Sing for me."

"_Hätte ich lebte bis jetzt_  
_Hatte ich bis jetzt gesehen_  
_Psyche._  
_Wie konnte ich so lange ohne dich gegangen_  
_Psyche._  
_Ihre Augen leuchten meine Welt_  
_Wie die Sterne von den Göttern geschmiedet_  
_Ihre Augen wie der blaue dass nur Hermes sieht so tief in den Himmeln._  
_Meine Psyche._  
_Ich kann dich nicht lieben aus der Ferne_  
_Ich brauche dich bei mir_  
_Neben mir._  
_Sagen Sie bleiben_  
_Psyche._  
_Lassen Sie mich halten dich in meine Arme_  
_Lassen Sie mich Ihnen zeigen, den Himmel, wie Sie noch nie gesehen haben_  
_Nicht scheuen mir jetzt meine Psyche._  
_Die Mutter ist so grausam_  
_So, meine Liebe meine_  
_Sie sollten stattdessen bestraft werden!_  
_Meine reizende Psyche_  
_Sagen Sie mir, zu lieben_  
_Psyche Ich werde Sie!"_

"That was beautiful. Now I need you to..." We went on for an hour repeating _Psyche _until he was happy with how I sang it. "You are very fast learner, you will make a fine star one day." I could hear the pride in his voice.

"They wouldn't let me sing. No matter how good I am I'm still black. They don't want anyone who was caught in the act of being black to sing their delicate notes. But thank you Mio Angelo Della Musica*." I walked out of the chapel and went to get a good night's sleep.

**Well here's the third part, sorry it took so long to update, but I got writing late, I usually work on it all week and update on Friday so I made it extra long, I'll try to update Friday so wait until then! Also tell me what you think of it so far as in: Review! The song Psyche belongs to me because I wrote it and the * means Angel of Music. It you want translations to Psyche contact me.**


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up too early to someone shaking me.

"whatthemotherfughdauowan?"I somehow managed to mutter, within a second I'd forgotten what I'd said to begin with. I couldn't even see, my eyes were too blurry. "Don't you know it's bad to wake people during REM sleep?" I managed to sit up and rub my eyes clear. I hear two gasps. The last day of my life had come flashing back to me. Stuck in The Phantom of the Opera. Shit; I needed a stiff one. "What?" I rubbed my eyes clear and saw that Christine and Meg had their backs turned to me. Both pairs of ears were a bright pink.

"You seem to have taken off your cloths in the night." Meg said, clearly embarrassed that she had seen another girl, albeit one she didn't know well, naked. I looked down to find myself in the buff, thankfully I'd pulled the blankets up with me so they couldn't see anything important, maybe I'd slipped a nip while getting up. Could've sworn I'd put on a pair of shorts and a shirt for the night. Ah well.

"I guess it's been so long since I actually wore something to bed I stripped in the middle of the night." I found my shirt on the ground and pulled it on. "So why am I awake at... when am I awake at?"

"It's six thirty." Meg said happily. I was surprised I didn't keel over.

"Why? Why would you get me up at this ungodly hour? I swear there shouldn't be a six thirty." I rubbed my eyes again.

"We always get up at six thirty." Christine seemed shocked I didn't start my day as early as she did. I laughed.

"It's hard to believe that I got up before eleven on a day I don't have school." I groaned and got under my covers again. "I'm a creature of the night, meaning that I despise the light and relish darkness."

"We're sorry, we never thought you would sleep later than us; since we were little we've had to get up at six and be rehearsing the next play by seven." My mouth hung open.

"How could you get up so early?" I forced my eyes open as I realized that I hadn't brushed my teeth or washed my face before flopping into bed. "Since I'm up wanna take me to the bathroom?" I rolled so I was upside down and pulled my backpack out from under the bed. Christine and Meg giggled at this. "What?"

"You've got no bottoms on!" They descended into full blown laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, I must be giving the opera ghost something to wank to." I let this fall out of my lips before I could think of what could happen if Erik was listening. Still, that would mean I'd mooned The Phantom of the Opera.

"What does wank mean?" Christine asked. I'm not telling her that.

"It means to get an eyeful of something. Like my milk chocolate ass." I laughed at this one, still hoping that Erik wasn't about to see my butt. It'd be funny to see the look on his face though, what with all these proper men and all in this period.

"Come on, I'll show you where we can get you a bath, your makeup looks like it was put on you by a child." I tried to look surprised.

"Oh, you don't think my day old makeup is beautiful? I think I'm pretty foxy." I pushed my lips out and sucked in my cheeks. I found my shorts at the bottom of the bed where I had apparently kicked them off in the middle of the night.

"I'd put on something a little less revealing if I were you." Christine laughed. I shrugged and pulled my toiletries out and grabbed my brown dress, some underwear and my stockings, garter belt and flack. I pushed my electronics down to the bottom of my bag; even if my clothes look weird it'd be harder to explain what a cellphone was. Sighing I replaced my bra with the corset. Still there was no way I was going to wear the ridiculous underpants. I pulled on the white under dress that was supposed to be worn underneath the corset; I didn't want to put it on yesterday, thinking it'd be too hot. Maybe I'll use it as a night dress until the day got too cold to go without it.

"Happy?" We walked to the bathroom quietly, like we would disturb anyone else, this place was practically deserted. I honestly didn't know what I was expecting when I saw the tub, maybe a bucket on the floor or a metal tub we'd have to fill by hand but it wasn't this. This tub looked pretty easy to use. "So how do I work this relic?"

Christine and Meg helped me with drawing the bath and left me to my lonesome. I stripped down and sank into the warm water. I'd decided to make it quick, only staying in until the water cooled. I scrubbed my hair and body, shaving my armpits afterward. As I massaged conditioner into my scalp my thoughts turned to my new life and Erik. It'll be interesting to see what will happen as this story progresses. Without a doubt I'll have to tell Erik I know he's not an angel and maybe help him become a little less fucked up. I breathed in the scent of my conditioner, letting it sooth me. I rinsed my hair out and wiped the soap from my body, letting my hand run over the long jagged scar on my stomach. I could feel the memories creeping up on me, not wanting to succumb to them I pulled the plug and got out of the tub.

I dried myself and wrapped my hair up in the towel. I pulled my creme out of my bag and put some on my body, got dressed, brushed my damp hair into a low bun at the nape of my neck and put on my makeup. I curled my eyelashes, added mascara and eyeliner and brushed on some lip balm. I was happy I had a good complexion and an even skin tone, I'd never gotten the hang of foundation. I put the locket necklace on and tucked it under my dress, feeling it's shape against my stomach.

I walked to the bedroom and dumped my stuff. Christine and Meg were reading as I entered the room.

"Have a good bath? You weren't in for very long." Meg observed.

"Yeah, it was great. I just wanted to get a good start today. You know I need to clean the Phantom's box." They looked at me like I'd been sentenced to death. "I'll be fine. It'll only take a few hours and I really don't think that the Opera Ghost is going to kill a little black girl for cleaning the box he's been whining over the state thereof." They gaped at me.

"I can't believe you just insulted the Ghost! And you still plan to go in the box! Are you completely out of your mind?" Christine whispered, knowing that the Phantom could be there at that moment. "He might catch you and we'll find you hanging from the Punjab around your neck in that box!" She clutched my arm, trying to prevent me from going.

"You and I both know that if I want to stay I have to clean box 5 every day. Once it's clean it won't take as long the next day, I'm sure it'll be in and out," I said pulling myself away from Christine. "Besides I don't have anyone here if I died it'd be of no consequence."

"Oh, please don't say that! We'd be sad if you left." Meg hurried over and held my other arm.

"Thanks; you do realize this doesn't change the fact that I have to go clean now?" They seemed to sober at the fact that I had to go, they obviously thought that I was going to die by the Phantom's hands. I'm glad I knew this story well enough to know that Erik wouldn't kill me, he wanted me to me his student and as far as he knew I didn't know he was the phantom of the opera.

"Please try to come back soon." Meg urged. I nodded and left the room. I walked down to the room where they kept their cleaning supplies and loaded up a basket of polishes, brushes, and rags; soon I was walking up the flight of stairs that led to the boxes. I stopped in front of Erik's favorite seat in the house. Slowly I opened the door to the dusty room; I could almost taste the stale fear in the air. I lit the oil lamp that stood in the corner and walked in, I wasn't going to let others decide it was too scary for me to clean in the Phantom's domain. I pulled a rag from the apron pocket, poured some solution on it and began to polish the first of four chairs. I let my mind wonder as I began to mechanically clean; what did this Erik look like? Would he look like a living corpse, as how Leroux described him? Maybe he'd look like Lon Chaney or Michael Crawford. Leroux Erik was a definite possibility, that haunting voice filled my spirit with a strange sweet song, more beautiful than any other I had heard. I felt a pain in my gut when I remembered the saddest part of the book, one that I remembered even though I hadn't had the courage to re read it in four years. _When my own father never saw me and my mother, so as not to see me, made me a present of my first mask! _He reminded me of myself with his own twisted family issues.

I began to sing the song Erik had taught me, singing always made the ache that came with thinking of my family hurt a little less. If I ever got back to my time I'd have to look up this musical _Amor Und Psyche. _Soon the gilt edges of the chairs were done so I closed the red velvet curtains and rubbed the cobwebs and dust off of them with a new rag. I tried to reach the top but I was too short. I took off my shoes and stood on a chair wrapping the end of the broom I brought in the rag and rubbed the top of the curtain, for some reason I had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. So I began to laugh.

"What now cobwebs? What now? I'm gonna eradicate cho' ass!" Well there I was, going angry black women on a pair of once dirty curtains. God I needed a life. Or a man.

"How do you plan to remedy the situation my insulting my curtains?" Erik was making his voice, wanting me to cower in fear of the mighty Phantom of the Opera. I closed my eyes. Was he toying with me?

"Oh my, I must be in the presence of the Opera Ghost. And if you really must know I'm celebrating the Tamaranean holiday Gorb Gorb. The holiday of berating drapery." Teen Titans don't fail me now. "Stupid curtains!" I yelled at them.

"You are such a strange specimen of female culture." He was trying to sound serious but I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Oh, I'm not like anyone else. Here at least. I'm from the future so I'm special. Also a little crazy." I smiled at I rubbed the last bit of dust off the very top edge of the curtain.

"I couldn't possibly doubt that but what are the evidence you give for your insanity?" I could tell he was amused.

"Well, I just yelled at drapery and used a reference from the future that you'll never understand in this lifetime and I'm speaking to the famed and feared Phantom of the Opera without running away and screaming. I must be batty." I smiled, knowing Erik wouldn't hurt me so I talked to him like I would to any other person.

"Yes, you must be completely out of your mind." I lifted my arms above my head.

"I regret nothing!" I love being me. "I'm awesome, I think I'm one of the best people I know." I heard a snort.

"Crazy and modest, you must have a wonderful mind." Erik seemed to forget that he had to be the angry Phantom of the Opera.

"Don't be jealous, I know everyone wishes they were me; I'm too irresistible." I faked a sigh. "The trials of the life of me."

"Now why don't you tell me what are you doing in my box?" I knew he already knew, but I guess he wanted to play up his part.

"I'm the cleaning girl, since all the other maids are scared six feet under of this room and refuse to go near it they needed me. And, since the rest of the cleaning staff have this place covered, this is my only job. Pretty interesting huh?" I began to sweep the dust from the floor into a dust pan. "Gee, I'm freakin' Cinderella." I swept all around the floor, knowing Erik was watching me.

"You don't seem to mind the fact that you have to clean this box, even though I can tell you'd rather not be here. Why?" Erik made a point, I didn't like cleaning the dirtiest box in the history of dirty boxes.

"Because it's the only way they'll let me stay there; plus I don't really have anything to lose. I'm trapped in the past, in Paris and I don't know french. And if you were to kill me it wouldn't be like I'd cause anyone a profound sense of loss, they'd get over it pretty quickly and go on with their lives. I'm pretty much of no consequence." I'd thought about this a lot last night as I drifted into sleep. Maybe being killed was my way home.

"I think Christine and Meg would feel very sorry that you were gone." Crap, he had heard us this morning.

"So you were listening in on us this morning were you? Pray tell before or after I got in the tub?" I didn't want him to have seen me half naked.

"After." I almost sighed in relief. "Were you insulting me then as well?" Well shit.

"I wouldn't call it insulting, just telling it like it is. You were sending note upon note to the manager asking why your box was never clean. That sounds like whining to me." I dusted off my apron and looked around. I was almost done, I only had to dust the walls off with the feather duster. "But the powerful Opera Ghost does not whine am I right?" I lowered my voice, making a poor imitation of him.

"You didn't seem afraid when they told you I would kill you. Why?" I couldn't tell him the real reason so I made something up.

"So I could get an interview with you." Could be worse.

"You'd want to talk to the Opera Ghost? You really must be out of your mind."

"Or maybe I'm curious about the man who terrorizes the Opera House."

"Do you not know my dear? Curiosity killed the cat." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yes but satisfaction brought it back." Well, I'm arguing with the Opera Ghost. Maybe Erik will kill me after all.

"Why would you want to talk to me? Haven't you already heard that I am a ruthless killer?" I finished dusting the walls and packed up. Looking at my watch I saw that I had been cleaning the box for three hours.

"Well I don't think you kill without a reason and, from what I hear, you want the Opera Populaire to be successful. You can't be all bad. Besides," I packed up all my things. "The thought of you being alone so often makes me sad for you." I opened the door to the hall and paused. "If you need a friend I'll talk to you." And I left the room.

_  
ERIK

I watched this strange girl go. What was going through her mind to give friendship to me? The monster that roams the halls of the opera house, terrorizing the people inside. She seemed to see past the outward glance that people would normally give me. I moved out of the shadows and took a turn about the room. For how quickly she had done her work it was nice and clean for once. I decided to comment on it in the next letter to my manager.

I silently slipped down to the tunnels I called my home and sat at my desk, writing my note.

_Dear Lefèvre,_  
_Please inform the 5th violin player that he has need of a new job as he cannot keep up with the others and drags each hamony into an unrecognizable mess. Also, I'd like to remind you that my salary is due in a week's time. The new girl who you have hired seems, at least, to be working out well and I would like to see the upkeep of my box in the same state she has now left it in._

_Your humble friend,_

_O.G_

I sealed the letter and left it on his desk for him to find when he returned. When I was again in my home I thought of Danielle, she has had former teaching and had a beautiful voice, I wanted her to sing on stage and show the world the talent she has. I want her to sing the music I write for her. And Christine. She also has a wonderful talent and I must meet with her soon to work on her voice. I had been teaching her for only two years now and she has become a quick learner. I wanted Christine to excel and step out of the shadow of her famous violinist father; soon I plan for her to take that bitch Carlotta's place as prima donna. But where would this leave Danielle? Maybe she could get small singing parts, I still had no idea if she could act. It would be a shame to see her voice go to waste.

_  
DANIELLE

I walked away from the door, wondering when Erik would call me to sing again. It had taken a while but talking with him made it go that much faster. I liked talking to Erik but it was kind of annoying that he's going to pretend to be two different people who both talk to me. I can see this getting very hard in the future. I went back to the room where they kept the cleaning supplies and dumped my things. I'd started at seven so it was around ten or ten thirty so I decided to get something out of the kitchen for breakfast.

"Danielle. Danielle." I turned to see Christine coming my way.

"Hey Christine," I said. We met up and walked to the kitchen together.

"I'm so happy you're alright. I thought the Ghost got you for sure." Christine sounded relieved; if only she knew who the Angel of Music really was, then she'd be singing a different tune. "The dancers are coming back today and you'll be able to meet them all. Tomorrow we start rehearsals for _Faust."_

"That's great! I've never seen a play in a fancy Opera House. I was going to but I wound up here instead." _Faust _was the play Erik kidnapped Christine from in the book and I wondered if it was going to happen the way that Leroux wrote it. I had my doubts though because Christine looked like Emmy Rossum with brown hair and blue eyes and Christine in Leroux's book was a blonde. I'm guessing it's going to follow the movie. Or play. Whatever, I'm not going to think about this.

"So are you going out for any parts in this?" Christine looked down.

"I don't think I could. There are only a small portion of rolls and La Carlotta always gets the lead. Anyway I'm not experienced enough." That was pure, unadulterated bull, I knew Erik was teaching her to sing.

"_Christine won't you sing with me_  
_I'm feeling lonely by myself._  
_Christine won't you sing with me_  
_And add a harmonious voice." _I sang to her and she looked back at me, surprised at my soprano singing. "Don't tell me you can't sing, Christine. I've only met one person that can't sing so far and you aren't her. You need to be nicer to yourself." I could swear I heard Erik praise me.

"Brava, brava, bravissima."

"I'm sorry, I've never felt comfortable singing in front of other people." She blushed and I rolled my eyes.

"Do it to make your father proud. He can already see you dancing like a prima donna, why don't you sing like one too?" She looked up at me sharply. "Trust me," I said. "I know."

By five o'clock the dancers were back and I'd met them all. They seemed pretty nice and thought I was the bravest person they knew for cleaning the Ghost's box. By seven we were eating dinner together and telling stories about their free time, I pulled out a pill and drank it down with some of the wine they served with dinner. By ten we were joking around in bed. By eleven we were all asleep.

**Yeah, not a lot in this chapter but Danielle is talking to Erik, maybe she'll FACE him soon. Get it? Face? HA! Okay, bad joke but still I hope you enjoy this chapter, I've already started writing the next one and it'll be up by Friday. Danielle is mine, but everyone else belong to Leroux, Webber and themselves.**

**Review!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

"Everyone this is Danielle. She is the new cleaning girl and I want you to be nice to her. She is the one single handedly cleaning box 5 and she will be staying in the dormitories here." I smiled to the cast of _Faust. _The dancers had met me the night before and smiled at me. They had already gone through the stages of accepting a black girl into their lives, surprisingly with grace, the others looked at me with a mixture of confusion and awe. Awe because I was brave enough to clean the Phantom's box and confusion because there was a black girl in their midst and they had to respect me.

"It's nice to meet you all." I dipped my head to them and there were hello's all around.

"Now we will begin rehearsing the ballet! Come girls." The ballerinas fell into place and Madame Giry began showing them the steps. The crowed went their separate ways, actors to the wings to practice their parts, Carlotta got the lead, the bitch, she had acted as if I wasn't there. The stage hands went into the rafters after cat calling me and the musicians went into the pit to play the music softly with the conductor. To my surprise the little person from the movie came up to me.

"We're a minority here, you know? If anyone messes with you tell me, I'll have your back." He stuck his hand out and I grasped it in mine.

"Thanks, you really have no idea how great it is to hear you say that. I think I'm going to get some bitchy remarks in the next few weeks." He smiled at me.

"Don't worry, It'll get better. Pretty soon we'll all be like one big happy, family. I'm Alphonse by the way."

"Danielle." He waved goodbye and went to join the actors. It felt good to have another minority around. I walked off the stage and went to the room where the cleaning stuff was, I was knocked off my feet over by one of the stage hands. "Shit!" I said as I landed flat on my ass.

"Sorry, I'm sorry; I didn't see where I was going." He held his hand out and helped me up. I looked up to see a pretty cute stagehand. Curly dark hair, dark blue eyes and a fair complexion; handsome but not my type.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter; I know you didn't mean to." I brushed the stage dirt off my butt and began to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" I turned around to see the cute stagehand running after me.

"What?"

"Are you really cleaning the Phantom of the Opera's box? Have you have any trouble?" He wants know if I've seen Erik.

"Nope. Unless you count trying to reach the top of the curtains at my height. I cleaned for three hours yesterday and everything went as well as to be expected." I shrugged. He looked a little disappointed.

"Well, it's good that you're okay, I don't know if you know but he's a killer if he doesn't get his way, we find someone hanging from the rafters. No mistake who did it." If this was any other time I'd say he was hitting on me.

"I'll keep that in mind." Was there a point to this conversation?

"I'm Blaise by the way, Blaise Dion."

"Danielle BellRose." I held my hand out and he kissed it. A handshake would have sufficed. At least he didn't kiss my cheek, I've always thought that was creepy. I mean, invading my personal space much? "Nice to meet you."

"You too. I hope we can become friends." As he turned away I could hear him whisper 'It's nice to have someone different here besides me.' No idea what was up with him. I had already cleaned out the Phantom's box with no added surprises that day so I decided to go down to the chapel and think. I didn't want to admit to myself that I wanted to talk to Erik again. I sat down in front of the photo of Gustav Daae.

"You look so much like Ramin. I wonder why; you were Swedish, I'd expect you to be blond haired and blue eyed. I guess Christine must me the spitting image of her mother." I clasped my hands together and lowered my head, praying that he heard me. "Don't worry Monsieur Daae, I'll make sure Christine stays safe."

"You believe Christine is in danger?" Erik asked me. I jumped a bit, not expecting to hear from him until after everyone was asleep.

"No, but in this day and age it's easy for her to get in trouble. Here she couldn't support herself if something were to happen and she got kicked out of the Opera. In my time everyone goes to school until they're eighteen at least and are equipped with knowledge about how to get a job without having to sell yourself." I shook my head "These time's are not good for my sex."

"I'm sorry I can't help you."

"Well, this time seems nice but I'm a 2011 girl. If I don't find a way home soon I'll be forever young." I lay on the floor with my arms out. I still couldn't figure out where Erik was hiding, unless the panel with the painted angel popped out. Or there could be a tunnel behind it.

"Danielle, are you down there?" Meg called to me as she came down the stairs.

"No, I'm a talking caterpillar." I got up and met her at the stairs. "What's going on? I thought you'd be rehearsing for a while."

"We were, now we are having a break for lunch. Come on, let's go up before all the good food is gone." I cast a glance over my shoulder before leaving the room, it was still empty and I had no idea where Erik was hiding. I smiled at the angel and walked up with Meg.

Lunch was great, I was happy I didn't have to cook for all these people; there must be over fifty of them, actors and dancers alone. I'm betting the stagehands ate at the table in the back. It was nice out here, but when I ate dinner in the kitchen the night before it felt really nice just being around people in the same situation that I was, minus the whole time traveling thing. We could laugh and tell dirty jokes and just be ourselves, here I felt stifled, like the real me was being suppressed.

"Where are you from Danielle, you skin is so dark?" One of the girls said, I'm sure she was in the chorus. I knew I couldn't tell them I was black, they'd only make it harder for me here. But I couldn't lie to them, not for the fact that it would make me dishonest but for the fact that it would make me feel like I was saying I was embarrassed of who I was. Well fuck it, I'll take racist comments before I let my ancestors down. I'm sorry, Grandpa. I almost let these people drag me through the muck of self loathing.

"I'm from America," I said. "My mother was African and my father was French. My mom was born and grew up in Virginia where she and my father met. They moved to a little town by the sea, where I was born." No lies there.

"Was your mother a slave?" Another girl asked. I closed my eyes, pretending to just blink as I thought of all the horrible things I could kill her with. No Danielle, she doesn't know any better, don't kill.

"No, my mother and her parents before her were free blacks, they chose to go to Virginia a long time ago." I'm sure my ancestors were slaves though, my great, great, great, great, great grandparents. They might be in America now, slaving away picking cotton. The thought made me sick. I looked around the table, daring anyone to say something against my ancestry.

"Oh my! It must be so interesting in America." Christine spoke up from beside me. She gave me a look that said she knew what I was thinking.

"Not really. Paris is so beautiful. I've never seen such a big city before!" Okay NOW I'm lying, maybe they'll lay off the racist shit if I pretend to be a country girl. The other dancers looked a bit smug, like they were exceptionally proud of being French born girls. What obnoxious people, suddenly I wasn't feeling bad for thinking they were all little Pepé Le Pew's. I missed cartoons.

"Have you been able to take a look around the city since you got here?" Another down the line asked.

"Oh, I only go here about three days ago so I didn't have much time to see the sights, other than the ones on the way to the Opera though. I'm looking forward to seeing Notre Dame." I smiled down at her. It seemed like there were going to be at least a few here who were really nice.

"I hear you're cleaner for the Phantom of the Opera's box, is it true?" All of the girls erupted in questions I couldn't avoid.

"Well, the long and short of it is that yes, I'm cleaning the Phantom's box and no nothing has happened. If something does I'll be sure to tell you." They all squealed in delight. "But I don't think it will because I've heard that he'll leave the cleaning lady alone if she does her work and doesn't meddle." The girls pouted and guys hollered. I laughed and tried to settle them down.

"What's it like inside of the box? No one's been in since the ghost scared a cleaning lady about sixteen years ago, and even then only the cleaning staff went in." A brown haired girl at the end said.

"Well when I walked in it looked like dirt and grime had a baby and left it there along with the afterbirth." Giggles and loud, manly laughs erupted from all around me and I felt a meaty hand slap me on the back. I looked up and saw one of the muscular male dancers wink at me as he passed. Well, seems I've passed the 'I'm human even though I'm black test'. Sweet. And I was being winked at my hot guys. Awesome.

"Was it really that bad?" Someone said through tears.

"No," I said. "It was worse. I was attacked by this crazy big spider and then the stupid curtains refused to be fully cleaned. I had to yell at them." Again everyone laughed. I finished my food and went to help wash the dishes in the kitchen. There were over twenty people cooking or cleaning constantly and the appreciated the help, knowing I didn't have to.

"Could you bring these refreshments to the stagehands please? I'm sure they're getting weary." One of the middle aged cooks asked me. I smiled at her.

"Sure." I grabbed the plate of rolls and jug of water and walked out. In the upper rigging of the stage and gave the rolls out and let the men take long drinks of water with the ladle in the jug. Gradually my load became lighter. I was walking on the regular level backstage and felt someone pinch my ass.

"Shit! What the hell?" I turned to see Blaise. "What the absolute hell were you doing?" Blaise held his hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry, I thought it'd be funny." He was laughing.

"What would be funny? If I tossed the biscuits down your shirt and dumped this water over your head? Because yeah, that would be funny." I mock advanced on him and he backed up.

"Mercy!" He called. I rolled my eyes and he took a biscuit.

"Still, why would you try that? That's so against the norm here." I know he knew what I meant.

"I don't know. I thought it'd be funny." He shrugged.

"Well you've got my brand of sick humor." I punched him on the shoulder and he grinned at me. "But if you pinch my ass again I'm gonna knock your pretty teeth out." I grinned back at him.

"Platonic date after work?" He asked. I raised my eyebrow.

"You read my mind. You're buying." I walked away before he could deny it.

ERIK

After Danielle had left I had decided to go back to my home and find a new song for her to learn as she already mastered _Psyche. _Maybe I'll teach her a song of my own. I looked over at the drawings I had made of my beautiful Christine and smiled. Last night I had begun to instruct her in the ways of singing _Think of Me _from Hannibal.

Christine had seen that play in the Opera Populaire a long time ago when her father was still alive. That was when he became friends with Madame Giry and Meg met Christine. I remember watching Gustav Daae's violin performance and feeling upset that someone who held such great talent died so early. As a young grieving Christine prayed I took pity on her and tried to comfort her and evidently becoming her Angel of Music. I had not realized it but as she grew older I fell in love with her and taught her to sing. One day she would be mine.

I pulled out the perfect aria for her, one from a play called _Sappho._ The song was sad and I was sure it would go beautifully with her voice. I checked the clock and decided to see how the rehearsal for _Faust _was going. I sat in my seat in Box five and watched the dancers, noting that all seemed to be moving as quickly as always before I decided to check behind the scenes to make sure everything was going smoothly. I used the shadows to my advantage and checked on the workers. They were working well enough for me not to fire them. I descended to the stage level when I heard a familiar voice talking to someone. It was Danielle and a stagehand and they were together and laughing at something. I moved through the shadows closer to try and make out the words they were saying.

"...Date after work?" I stood shocked as I heard her reply "You read my mind."

She was going to date this lowly stagehand? Anger filled me as I turned and followed her out of the room to keep from killing him. He wasn't good enough for my protege, the next time she was alone I would confront her on this act and get her to break the date. She would listen to her Angel. I followed her into the bedroom for the female dancers at the opera before I spoke.

"Danielle." She looked around.

"Angel?" She knew something was wrong by the sound of my voice, I tried to adopt a calmer tone.

"Danielle, are you thinking of going to dinner with this young stage hand?" Her eyebrows raised, as if she had not expected me to intervene with this blooming relationship. "I don't want you to be unfocused on your work and your lessons. This boy will cause trouble." I called down to her from behind the hidden panel that I could use to jump down in case I was being pursued in the tunnels. A smile graced her features.

"Angel, thank you for watching out for me but you don't need to worry, he's only a friend. It's a platonic date, there no feeling involved. I'm even getting him to pay for it." She grinned cheekily.

"It still unsettles me. Why would a young man ask for a date with a pretty young woman without the intention of marriage?" Or worse.

"Well, there is the intention of being friends. Don't worry, I'll be fine." She smiled. I still didn't want her to go, but I saw no way of preventing it without revealing myself.

"Alright but I want you to be careful, there have already been to many girls with their hearts broken by stage hands." I knew of no other warnings to give her.

"I will." She turned to leave the room and paused. "Don't worry, I'll make it to our music lesson tonight." And she was gone. It puzzled me how she never flinched when I raised my voice at her. I found myself wondering about the time she came from; where all girls like her? She acted like a man at times and hated wearing the bloomers Madame Giry had given her, leaving them peeking out from under her bed. At times though, she acted like a small child and giggling at the jokes made by the dim members of the kitchen staff. It was almost cute.

DANIELLE

I couldn't believe Erik had tried to keep me from hanging out with Blaise. Wait. That meant he was eavesdropping on our conversation and had seen him pinch my butt. That must have been why he was afraid Blaise was going to get all hungry like a wolf on me. I was upset that he didn't trust my judgement, but happy that he cared what happened to me. I giggled; he called me pretty.

"Hey, ready for or platonic night on the town?" Blaise came up to me after work.

"Standard dinner and a drink?" I asked. "With it on you of course." I waved goodbye to a few of the actors that didn't live in the opera and were going home.

"And I thought I was only paying for the drinks." I could hear the jingle of coins in his pocket as we walked down to one of the pubs farther down the street.

"I'm good for only drinks, it's been forever since I had the wonderful feeling of inebriation." I remembered my lesson with Erik tonight and made a note not to get too drunk. Only tipsy.

"I thought you were constantly drunk form the way you act." He nudged my with his hip and I nudged him back.

"Fuck you," I said flipping him the finger. He put one hand to his heart and the other to his head in a fake swoon.

"Never have I ever heard such language coming from a young lady." He quipped at me in a falsetto voice that could rival dragging fingernails on a chalkboard.

"Never have I ever heard such dramatics from the throat of a Queen!" I said, swooning back at him.

"Why are you calling me a queen, I'm no royalty." I snorted and laughed out loud. If only the Drag Queens of my time could hear him say that.

"Where I come from when we call a man a queen it means he's a homosexual or he dresses in women's clothes and acts like a woman." He opened his eyes wide and sputtered incoherently.

"Yeah, I went there." He went beet red and we walked into the pub.

After three hours of drinking and me teaching Blaise what whale song was we stumbled into the opera house and parted ways. While he walked to the men's dormitories I went to the bathroom, splashed water on my face and tried to sober up. My head was a little cloudy but I could manage. I popped a pill in my mouth and went down to the chapel.

"I'm surprised you managed to make it. I trust you enjoyed yourself." Erik was being sulky and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

"Yes I did have fun. Blaise is a good friend." I tried to put a subtle emphasis on the 'friend'.

"I think it best for you to go to bed," Erik said. Through the slight haze of alcohol I processed his words.

"Don't you want me here?" I couldn't keep the hurt out of my voice.

"Of course I do but I think that, in your current state you need to rest." Erik was always logical. Like Spock. I giggled, maybe I was a little drunker than I thought I was.

"You're right I'm so sleepy." I yawned and lay on the floor. I heard Erik call my name twice. I didn't respond, I just felt like lying there. Finally there came a sigh and I felt myself being lifted. I looked up to see a white porcelain mask. Erik was carrying me to bed. I snuggled against him, I could feel him stiffen.

"You're so warm Angel." Everything was a soft blur after that. All I remember was that Erik pulled the covers off my bed and tucked me in.

ERIK

She had fallen asleep on the chapel floor. I sighed and climbed out of my hiding place and picked her up, deciding to carry her to bed. She lifted her head and pulled herself close to me.

"You're so warm Angel." After that I'm sure she was asleep. I tucked her into bed and quickly left the room, thinking only of the content look on Danielle's face as I carried her to bed. I could feel a smile playing at my own lips.

**Tender moments for all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and, as always, Review!**

**Danielle and Blaise belong to me and everyone else belong to themselves Leroux and Webber!**


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning with half a hangover and stale alcohol breath. I couldn't believe I'd gone out drinking. I'm seventeen and I'd been in a legitimate bar, it's not like I've never gotten drunk before, let's face it most teen have, it was just so different in a bar than hiding in a park or the woods or something. I think I got in about eleven thirty and went to sleep five minutes later. Erik had carried me to bed. Wow. I looked around the room and saw I was the only one in it. I guess I slept through the wake up calls of Meg and Christine for once. I pulled my watch out of my backpack and read that it was nine fifteen. Good, I thought, I finally got enough sleep.

"Get up Sleeping Beauty." A voice called from the door. "It's a beautiful day!" I looked at Blaise with a frown.

"The day can go fuck itself with a hammer for all I care, I need my beauty sleep." I rolled over and ducked under the covers. I heard him walk over to me. He pulled the covers off me. I yelped.

"Still in the clothes from last night? Did you sleep in them?" He sounded shocked at the thought of drunkenly passing out.

"No, I stripped them off last night and decided to wake up and put them back on in the morning just to mess with your head." I got up and pulled my blankets out of his hand. I stretched. "You got me up now get out, I need to get my things together and take a bath." I pushed him out of the door.

"Party too much last night?" He grinned devilishly at me. I grinned back.

"Not enough to knock me down baby!" I slammed the door in his face and listened to him walk down the hall. I pulled the dress off and looked at myself in the mirror over. God, I looked like I'd let a child take a sharpie to my face. Major raccoon eyes. I sucked in as deep a breath as I could and realized that I'd slept in the corset.

"How the fuck did I breathe?" I clawed at the hooks in front and pulled it off, taking a giant gulp of air. "Ow, my ribs." I whimpered. By the end of this experience I'm going to be crippled. I rubbed my ribs before slipping into my brown dress again and taking my toiletries out from under my bed. I resolved not to wear the corset that day. I slipped into the bathroom and set to work righting my appearance.

The weeks slipped by like that. I'd clean the Phantom's box every day and wandered around the opera house helping the maids and cooks from time to time. I'd have my singing lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays but on Fridays I'd go out with Blaise and drink or walk around Paris. Erik was always on my case about how he didn't trust Blase and that he was hiding something. I almost accuse Erik of being the Phantom and telling him everything I knew about him. But that would be stupid and could get me killed, so I stayed silent.

Soon it was February and the dress rehearsal night for _Faust. _I stood in the Phantom's box after I finished cleaning and watched it. The next day, Saturday, was the opening day, I had been there for three months and exchanged Christmas cards with Meg, Christine and Madame Giry, I didn't make one for Erik because he still wanted me to believe he was an angel and the 'Phantom' was a ghost. I made faces at Christine and Meg who were my closest companions; I ducked when Madame Giry turned to see what was making her dancers fall over with laughter. When rehearsals were done I went to the chapel.

"It's Friday again," I said, knowing Erik was there. I had come to know when he set his eyes on me. Almost all the time I spent in his box I was under his eyes though he rarely talked.

"I assume that means you're going out again with that boy." He replied. I still couldn't understand why he didn't like Blaise. He worked hard and finished all his work before going home.

"Angel he's my friend and I'll be back early tonight. I'm leaving now and I'll be back before the cleaning staff finishes at seven thirty." I got up and walked out the door. Blowing a kiss on the way out.

"So what's so important about this place?" Blaise was taking be to some club that was members only and Blaise didn't tell me anything else. When he had met me outside the front of the Opera he had said there was something important he had to tell me there.

"You'll see when we get there, Miss Nosy." He hip nudged me. God, he acted weirder than me and that was saying something. We walked in off and on silence for the next twenty minutes before we came to a bar front. The music coming from it was pleasant but there was something about it that was a little... off. Blaise walked up to the bouncer and whispered something in his ear. The bouncer moved to the side let us pass.

It was dimly lit in the bar. I think the sign said that the place was called _Fantasia._There were couples clustered around on over sized cushions and something sweet hung in the air. We walked over to the bar and he ordered us two fruity sounding drinks. I sipped my and looked around. The people scattered around us seemed on high alert that we were in the bar.

"Blaise, what's going on?" I was starting to get a little creeped out.

"Danielle, we're friends right?" I nodded. "And friends like each other no matter what right?" I nodded again, wondering where this was going. "Well I have something I wanted to tell you from the day we met." I was on high alert. Had Erik been right? I never got the vibe that Blaise had a thing for me, I always thought we'd just be really good friends.

"Wanna tell me what's up?" I was getting ready to pull a runner when he began to speak.

"Dee, I'm different. I'm not... I don't like girls. I like men," he said in a rush. I looked at him. No wonder we got along so well.

"Yeah, and that's a bad thing?" I asked, temporarily forgetting what time it was. Blaise broke out into a smile and picked me up and spun me around. "Easy," I laughed. "I can't breathe enough already in this corset, are you trying to kill me?" He set me down and kissed my cheek. I almost began rolling on the floor with laughter when I realized that this must be a gay bar.

"It's so good to know you accept me. No one ever has. Except the people here, that is." He showed me around the room and introduced me to some men whose names I'd never remember. I had poured my drink out into a plant and returned it to the bar. These men couldn't get over how amazed they were that having them all be gay wasn't an issue to me. I sang a few song for them and told jokes, letting them get to know me. After a while I realized I was going to be late coming home.

"Time to take me home now," I said after a while. "I need to get a good nights sleep for once, I'd also like to go to bed on a full stomache." Blaise paid for the bill and we left, much to the dismay of the other men in the room. I guess they thought of me as a little statue of tolerance. I had to promise to come by every Friday and hang out. As soon as we got out of hearing range of the bouncer I began to laugh.

"Well this is going to be interesting. Never in my life did I think that I'd be going to be a welcome guest at a gay bar." I continued to laugh until we came in the door.

"I'm glad you accept me, not even my own father did." Blaise took my hands. "It really means a lot to me." I smiled up at him. "And those songs you sang were great! Where'd you learn to sing like that?"

"Oh, here and there. And that's what friends do. They're there for each other when they're needed." I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek and let him kiss mine. "See ya tomorrow." I waved and we separated. I'd almost made it to the female dormitories when I almost knocked over a cleaning lady.

"I'm sorry dear, I didn't see you." She tried to go around me but I stopped her.

"What are you still doing here, I thought that the cleaning crew got off at seven thirty; it's almost eight." Everybody was eager to get home as soon as they could after work never staying more than ten minutes to pack up and leave.

"I forgot to clean the mirror in the prima donna's dressing room earlier today so I have to go back and do it now before I go home." She looked about dead on her feet. I felt bad for her, I knew for a fact that she was paying for her child to be taken care of today since he was sick even though she had little money.

"I'll do it for you, your kid needs you right now." She smiled at me so sweetly I almost forgot I'd be late for dinner again.

"Oh, thank you so much! Of course I'll pay you for it.." I held up my hand.

"I won't accept the money. You need it more than I do right now. I'll do it for free." She handed me the cleaning solution and a rag, thanking me until she went out the door. It made me happy knowing I was doing something to help her in such a hard time.

I walked into the dressing room and lit a candle, I knew it wouldn't take long to clean the mirror and didn't want to waste candles. I absentmindedly began to clean the mirror. My mind turned to my own time. I missed my family and my friends. They'd laugh if they knew I'd become a member of a gay bar club. I almost began to cry but forced the tears away thinking that I wouldn't be doing anything useful if I began to cry. I took a deep breath and finished the mirror, trying not to think about the movie and how Christine will be pulled through the same mirror that I was cleaning. I finished gathering up my things and turned to leave when a gust of cold wind blew out my candle crept up my back.

"_Insolent boy, this slave of fashion, _  
_Basking in your glory!" _I sucked in a gasp as his voice hit me, it felt like I was being pulled under by a wave.

"_Ignorant fool, this brave young suitor, _  
_Sharing in my triumph!" _Erik sounded really mad. He must have seen me kiss Blaise. I had to pacify him.

"_Angel, I hear you. _  
_Speak, I listen. _  
_Stay by my side, _  
_Guide me." _The tension in the air seemed to lessen.

"_Angel, my soul was weak, _  
_Forgive me. _  
_Enter at last, Master."_

"_Flattering child, you shall know me. _  
_See why in shadow I hide. _  
_Look at your face in the mirror. _  
_I am there, inside!" _I turned to see Erik's form in the mirror. I felt myself smile as I sung to him.

"_Angel of Music, guide and guardian, _  
_Grant to me your glory. _  
_Angel of Music, hide no longer. _  
_Come to me, strange Angel." _I walked to the mirror where Erik stood.

"_I am your Angel of Music. _  
_Come to me, Angel of Music." _He held out his hand to me and I reached for it with my own. I knew I had no control over where he took me and I didn't care; rational thought had left me.

ERIK

I watched the door from one of my hiding spaces, waiting for Danielle to come in the door before I went back to my home for the night. It was past time for her to be home and I was a bit worried. After what seemed like hours she walked in with that stagehand laughing. I felt a pang of envy that he could talk to her so freely while I couldn't. They walked in and talked about something I couldn't hear, I thought I heard him praising her voice. She gave him another perfect smile and they kissed. I couldn't believe that she had kissed him after she had told me he was only a friend. Anger welled in me. She had lied. Lied for so long to me and, like a fool, I believed her. I followed her, planning to yell at her as soon as I had her alone when she bumped into a cleaning woman and offered to do her work. I smirked; this was the perfect way to get her alone.

As she finished cleaning the mirror I called to her. She looked surprised but responded in such a sweet tone some of my anger left me, leaving me to coast on the image of their kiss to call her to me. As she turned to the mirror and laid her eyes on me she broke into a smile sweeter than she had offered the stagehand, whatever anger I still held melted as she took my hand and triumph shot through my veins. I pulled her through my tunnels with our voices echoing off the walls.

"_In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came ._  
_That voice which calls to me and speaks my name _  
_And do I dream again? _  
_For now I find The Phantom of the Opera is there inside my mind." _She held my hand tight and looked straight at me without a trace of fright, she even smiled. I breathed in her distinct scent. What was it? Roses, jasmine and baby powder; it was the kind of scent that I knew only she could have.

"_Sing once again with me our strange duet _  
_My power over you grows stronger yet _  
_And though you turn from me to glance behind _  
_The Phantom of the Opera is there inside your mind." _The torch I held flickered as I set it aside to help her onto my horse Caesar. She swung her leg over and rode like a man, lacing her fingers through his mane. She seemed completely at peace though I was sure I hadn't compelled her so deeply. I helped her off and into the boat. She turned to face me as I pushed off from the dock and steered us towards my home.

"_Those who have seen your face draw back in fear _  
_I am the mask you wear,"_

"_It's me they hear." _I finished for her before our voices melded together to one.

"_My/your spirit and my/your voice in one combined _  
_The Phantom of the Opera is there _  
_Inside my/your mind." _She seemed to be exited. Her voice betrayed her.

"_In all your fantasies_  
_You always knew_  
_That man and mystery,"_

"_Were both in you." _She sang back to me.

"_And in this labyrinth_  
_Where night is blind_  
_The Phantom of the opera is there/here_  
_Inside your/my mind!" _Our voices hung together in the cavers and ricocheted around us, like some chorus was singing with us.

"_He's there, the Phantom of the Opera!_  
_Beware, The Phantom of The Opera!" _She sang to me.

"Sing my Angel of Music!"

"_He's there, The Phantom of the Opera!" _Her voice soared in the caverns as my home came into view.

"Sing!" Higher her voice climbed. "Sing for me!" Higher again, at a break she drew a breath. "Sing for me Angel of Music." The boat docked and I got out, turning to her. "SING FOR ME!" I yelled as her voice slid through the octaves like they were no obstacle at all. I pulled my cape off and turned to her again.

DANIELLE

I felt my breathing come hard as I had sung so high and used up so much air. I could hardly believe Erik had taken me into his lair. Rationality slammed into my like a runaway train. My eyes snapped towards him.

"_Why have you brought me here?" _I stood in the boat, causing it to rock. I stumbled out onto dry land and looked around.

"_I must return." _I turned to look for a way out.

"_You cannot-"_Erik began.

"_They'll worry for me,_  
_They'll think I'm gone." _I backed up, I didn't know if he intended to hurt me or what. I didn't know if he was still mad at me for kissing Blaise. I still didn't get that, it was only on the cheek.

"I cannot let you go yet." He answered me. He didn't seem angry. I looked into his eyes and he seemed calm. I still had to feign ignorance. I could barely move my lips.

"You are the Phantom of the Opera." He nodded. "You are the Phantom and my Angel of Music." He clearly hadn't expected me to get it. I gave a gentle smile. "I'd know your voice anywhere." I swallowed my uncertainty and walked towards him. Tentatively I reached out and touched his chest with the tips of my fingers. He was taller than me, at least six feet, an entire foot taller than me. He seemed frozen as I continued my inspection. He wore what I knew was a black wig and a fine black suit with a white shirt and sea blue eyes peeking out of a white mask that covered the right side of his face going over his nose and around his lips. I could see him tense as I backed away from him.

"_Why did you lie to me?"_" He flinched.

"_What could you gain_  
_From carrying on this game_  
_And teaching me to sing._  
_I'm not a doll for you to command,_  
_To come to you at your remand." _I felt my heart pounding in my chest. "Why?" He walked towards me and I fought to keep my face blank.

"You are asking a masked man why he would lie to you? Obviously he is the villain." His face was as impassive as mine.

"That's not true. You aren't the villain, you are a man that has had horrible things happen to him so he hid from the world and it's cruelties and forgot, or maybe never learned, how to trust someone." He looked at me with pain in his eyes. "I'm from the future, I'm different. I spoke to you even though you were the Phantom and killed people. How could you not trust me even after I treated you like I would any other person?"

"You have already shown the insight you have and it is for that very reason I trust no one. I have never placed trust in anyone besides myself and I could not stop for one person." I knew this, why was I making him say it?

"Blaise and I are just friends." I said out of nowhere. "You don't need to be mad at him." Something flashed in his eyes.

"If that's true why did you kiss him?" He spat.

"What's so bad about kissing someone on the cheek?" I asked.

"I thought you kissed him on the lips; don't you love him?" Erik turned from me. I was going to need to say something pretty tactful to get out of this.

"I do love him," Erik cringe a bit. "But I love you too." Erik turned around in bewilderment. "I also love Meg, Christine and Madame Giry. All of them are my precious friends, like you."

"I'm your friend?"

"And my Angel of Music." I walked up to him and put my arms around him. He went rigid. "Though I'm going to have to call you something other than Phantom or Angel." I smiled up at him. "What's your name?" His mouth moved without sound for a moment before he said anything.

"Erik. I am Erik."

**They met! What will happen next? Tune in next week to find out! Remember to review! All the same stuff about the characters!**


	7. Chapter 7

At six thirty in the morning I was again awoken, but this time it was because everyone was getting ready. With bleary eyes I watched everyone hustle around the room, slipping on tutus and tying their long hair back. Meg and Christine sent me a quick goodbye and the room was empty. I closed my eyes and dozed for about half an hour before I got up. I dressed and got ready for my day as the cleaning lady. I got my things together and went to box 5.

After I polished the chairs I closed the curtains to clean them. I was about to take off my shoes and climb onto a chair when it hit me like a ton of bricks on my chest. My legs wouldn't support me anymore and I fell to my knees in a coughing fit. I pulled a rag out of my apron and covered my mouth. I curled in fetal position on the floor as blood dribbled out of my mouth. My shaky hands pulled a pillbox out of my pocket and I somehow was able to swallow the pill and down some of my flask. I shuddered on the floor. I was so cold.

Suddenly arms held me and a soft voice asked if I was okay.

"No." I began to cry, for the briefest moment I thought I was going to die. Erik held me close as I cried into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and cried like a two year old who lost their mother in a crowded supermarket. I knew Erik might feel awkward at this moment but I didn't care, I just needed to be held by someone.

I don't know how long went by but my tears stopped. "Thank you," I said. "If I'd been alone I'm not sure I would've been able to move myself into a comfortable spot."

"What happened? What was that?" He asked. I knew he had a right to know but I didn't want to talk about it.

"I'm just sick, that's all. Don't worry, I'm not contagious." I laughed weakly.

"That seemed more than a mere cold. Do you have consumption?" He sounded worried. I knew that in this time consumption or tuberculosis was incurable.

"No! No, it's just a disease I have, only me. I'm sure it'll go away soon." I tried to calm him, who knows what would have happened if he knew my heart disease needed an operation. "I need air. Can you help me to the roof?" It was so cold out in February, maybe it was always this cold in February when you were in Paris, I didn't know, I was sure that it snowed here. Silently Erik carried me to the rooftop. I breathed in the cool air and felt my chest loosen.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Erik knelt next to me. I smiled and shook my head.

"No, I'm feeling better now. Really, it's nothing." I looked up at Erik and could see his face etched in worry. "Thank you for worrying about me." I stood up and brushed the dirt off the back of my dress. I spun around with my arms in the air, I could feel my body going back to normal.

"Don't overexert yourself." He walked up to me and put his arm on my shoulder. I smiled at him again.

"I'm thinking of asking Madame Giry to teach me ballet so I can join the chorus. Being around so much acting has made me a little antsy. I really need to get back into the swing of the stage." I looked over the edge of the railing and saw how far it was to the bottom. A fucking long way.

"I'm sure that you'll catch on quickly." I liked talking to Erik, it made me forget the constant pain I was in.

"Yeah, maybe. I've never taken a ballet class in my life. Who am I kidding, I've never taken a dance class in my life. I minus a dancing ability." Erik's brow furrowed. I really need to stop using future slang here unless I want to keep explaining what it meant. "It means I just can't dance."

"You can sing like a prima donna already." His voice was praising but still he refrained from touching me, I guess he's still not used to physical contact.

"I'm good at a lot of things that don't require me to get out of a bed." God that didn't sound right, I really didn't mean it like that. "I'm fluent in Italian and I write my own lyrics. I even make up dances with my friends but I'm not really flexible enough to make them really good. But I have fun doing it so I might have fun learning to dance ballet while it's readily available to me." God I was rambling again.

"You write your own music?" Erik sounded shocked but excited, I guess he wanted me to show him my songs. I really didn't want to show my mediocre pieces to THE Phantom.

"Yeah, but they're not sheet music, only lyrics in Italian or a mix of Italian and English."

"Would you show me?" He asked. I spun around, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"No. They aren't really good, not like anything you compose." Everything grew still.

"How did you know I compose? Or, for that fact, how my compositions sound?" Shit. I was stepping on thin ice now.

"I'm from the future, how could I not know about the music you write? It's wildly popular. Where I come from everyone knows about you because of a novel written in 1910." I decided to skip the whole 'this world doesn't exist and you aren't a real person' speech. Really, why would he believe me?

"You knew I was the Phantom from the beginning?" He asked.

"No." I turned to look at him again. "I knew you were Erik Destler from the beginning. I didn't want to say anything until you were ready to tell me yourself." He looked surprised. "I thought it was kind of funny you were playing the whole 'Angel of Music' card on me, I'm surprised I didn't tell you I knew when I came back from drinking with Blaise the first time." His face darkened, what was up with him and Blaise?

"What does the future know about me?" He asked.

"Well, there was a book written about you after you died in the early 1900's and that later became a," I didn't know how to explain what a movie was to him. "A really good play. Then they made a musical and about a thousand more adaptations since the first book."

"Do you know how my life will end?" I was dreading that question. How could I tell him that the girl he loved chose Raoul over him and left him to be found by an angry mob.

"That's... highly debatable. There are so many different versions of your story that I don't think have any basis in reality and they all have different endings." I shrugged. "I couldn't tell you anyway, I'd be meddling in time and I'd mess up the future more than I already am by being here." I really hope I mess up the story now that I was in it. Erik looked confused.

"If you aren't supposed to be here why are you here?" I asked myself that every day.

"I don't know. None of the versions had a black girl who cleans the Phantom's box." I couldn't help but worry that I was drastically changing the future as we spoke.

"Let's go to my home. If we are going to speak of the things yet to happen it would be best to not let anyone overhear us."

"Okay." We began walking down when I had an idea. "Can I keep my future stuff in your house? I don't want anyone to find it and accuse me of being a witch or something."

"Alright." His voice was neutral but I was pretty sure he thought the idea was weird.

"But don't think that this is a free pass to go through my stuff," I said as I walked towards the ballet dormitories.

ERIK

I watched her walk away and wondered if my idea was so obvious. I had thought to look through her things to gain a better understanding of where she was from but she had seen right through me. I thought of the books and plays about me and shuddered. How had my life gotten out? Who, besides Madame Giry, knew my life story? Would Madame Giry tell someone about me? No, she wouldn't, she'd never done anything that had hurt me. The first book that would come out around the turn of the century would mean I was dead and that Antoinette must be as well since she was older than me by six years. Who could have done so much research on my life? It was unnerving.

Danielle had known there was no Angel but she sang for me anyway. Why? I felt a hope spark in my chest that she had never seen the performance of my life or that the writer had never found out about my childhood, if you could call it that. I put a hand against my mask and knew she had never seen the performance. If she had she would have never spoken to me. I laughed once, darkly, she would have run in the other direction as fast as she could if she knew what was beneath my mask. Sometimes being made to wear a mask my entire life made me want to toss the accursed scrap of clothing across the lake and go for a walk in the park an hours walk away from the Opera. I knew I couldn't, they'd kill me before they looked at me. I remembered when I decided to carry Danielle to bed after her first outing with the stagehand and she had relaxed against me; she had already known who I was and she trusted me with her body. I felt myself smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to decide what I could keep with me and what was too risky to be seen." She carried a strange bag on her back and it looked a little deflated "It's mostly clothes I can't wear here and my camera, cell phone and wallet." She looked up at me. "Don't touch my wallet unless you want to steal my useless future British money." The talk of the future continuously confused me. "Also, if you go through my stuff I won't like you anymore." She had such a serious look on her face I knew she meant it.

"Alright, alright." One of her words came to mind. "What is a cell phone?" She bit her lip, obviously contemplating how much to tell me.

"A little device that you use to contact people without writing a letter. You can talk to them like they're in the room with you." I stopped walking, amazed such a device could exist. She looked at me warily. "Don't you even think about taking it apart. If you so much as take the back of it off I'll smite you worse than God smited Lucifer." Again she was completely serious. It must be worth a lot if she is threatening me. I lead her to a passage that went right down to my home.

"If you ever need me and don't have the patience to go through the mirror come down this way and it will take you right to my home." She looked around with a light smile on her face, like she was enjoying being with me. It felt nice. We came out from a hidden tunnel close to the bank of my home behind one of the many curtains.

"Do all of these curtains have tunnels behind them?" She looked behind another curtain and found a mirror.

"Some, but only two go anywhere, if someone ever found out where I was they would get lost in the tunnels instead of finding me." She didn't ask which out of the five would not come to dead ends.

"I'm going to put my things over there." She started toward the small alcove where the wedding dress I designed for Christine was hanging on the mannequin. I turned to tell her when I heard a yelp and a crash. Danielle had jumped a mile in the air and a foot backward, knocking into a long candlestick. I walked over to ask if she was okay.

"Are you alright?" She turned to me with wide eyes, eyes that accused me of madness. She spun and picked up the candlestick and put the candle back on before she turned to answer me.

"You really have a mannequin dressed as a bride that looked exactly like Christine in your downstairs? That's six shades of creepy! Oh my fucking God, when I first saw it I thought you'd put Christine in some kind of trance and left her here for later or something! God damn, that ain't right. Motherfuckin' scared the everlovin' shit outta me. Honey, that," she said pointing back at the mannequin, "ain't the work a no sane man." As if realizing what she said she covered her mouth with her hand.

"It took me very long to create that and I'd appreciate it if you'd stop squawking." My voice came out harsh. Again she bit her lip.

"I'm sorry Erik, when I get really freaked out or angry I start talking like a black woman. It's just that the whole mannequin thing seems kind of crazy. You haven't even told Christine you love her and you're already planning the wedding? Look, Christine is my friend and that" again she indicated to the alcove, "is a little stalkerish." Anger welled in me. How dare she say that to me? I loved Christine and she was going to marry me. "And you're also my friend. I don't want to see either of you get hurt." Her eyes fixed on me, I felt all of my anger drain away. She was worried for me, worried that Christine might not want to marry me.

"Why would Christine not want me?" I asked, knowing she was going to say it was because of my face.

"Because to her, like you were to me, you are the Angel of Music. Her father. She doesn't know who you really are, how can she love you if you don't let her know you?" I winced. I knew she was right but I knew Christine would be upset that I was not her father coming to teach her.

"I know." I felt uncomfortable in the silence between us now, so did Danielle.

"So... do you want to take a look at futuristic technology?" I looked at her, surprised.

"Weren't you the one telling me not to take your things to pieces and saying it would be dangerous for me to know about the future?" She shrugged and opened the pack.

"I said that about you, not me. And I'm going to hell anyway so I might as well sin." This was her explanation for disrupting the timeline. I sat next to her, waiting for her to explain the rectangular object in her hand. "This is a camera. In the future people figured out how to make it so the camera has a little machine in it that copies the image of that you point the lens at without having the subjects sit for hours. Here, look this way." She pointed the rectangle at me and something on it flashed, temporarily blinding me. I rubbed my eyes.

"What was that?" She laughed at my expression and turned the rectangle toward me. I was looking at a photograph of myself with a bewildered expression.

"Aren't you a cutie? Well that's how that works, it's not waterproof so don't take it out." Again she eyes me suspiciously. "And this is my phone. It's really useful for when you need to tell someone to get something from the market on the way home. Or to call an ambulance. See? I got 911 on speed dial." I couldn't process all this at once and she seemed to pick up on that. "It's strange. you look a lot like one of the men that played you."

"What?" Wasn't it bad enough everybody knew about my life?

"Yeah, Gerard Butler. But you're a little taller and your eyes are sharper, but when he was in costume you couldn't really tell. Also his hair is brown with some gray in it, I think he's forty three or something now." If he looked so much like me I wonder if my face would match his? If she had a photograph of him I could see what I would look like without this abominable face.

"Do you have a photo of him?" I heard myself ask. She twisted her face and reached for the 'phone'.

"Maybe." She seemed to look through it as if it were a book. "I'm sorry, I guess I don't." She frowned. I felt a little disappointed myself.

"It doesn't matter." I mentally shook myself. "Are you comfortable here? Is there anything you're lacking?"

"I'm lacking in monetary funds but that's about it." She smiled. So be it.

"Come." She followed me to my bed chambers in the room above. She looked confused as I tossed her a bag of coins. "Take this and go buy your necessities." Again she looked shocked.

"I don't want your money, I was just making a joke." She tried to hand the bag back but I pushed it away. "I don't need it, I get a monthly salary and I've quite a fortune already."

DANIELLE

Was he seriously giving me all this money? The bag was heavy.

"I couldn't, I haven't earned it and I'd have to work forever to pay you back." He shook his head.

"Think of it as a gift from a teacher to his student." I clutched the purse to my chest and smiled. I ran the few steps it took to get to him and threw my arms around him, peppering his cheek with kisses.

"Erik you're so sweet." I pressed a few more kisses to his surprised cheek and let go. "I can finally stop wearing the same dress every day!" I laughed. Erik seemed to be in shock. Maybe I'd invaded his personal space a little too much. "I'll have to go on a shopping trip with Meg and Christine; I don't know a dress from a tree in this crazy time." He snapped out of it enough to chuckle.

"You should get going, I'm sure everyone will be worried about you." Erik walked me to the end of the little tunnel and bid me goodbye. I checked the time on my watch and found that it was passed lunch and almost five. I had been with Erik since around nine in the morning. Eight hours. Wow. Meg and Christine got off soon, if I got them right as they got of we might be able to go to a few stores before they closed for the day.

"But first I need to talk to Madame Giry," I said aloud to no one in particular. I walked to the stage and snuck into the audience to watch the last bit of dress rehearsal.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, I'll see you tomorrow." Ryder said to the group, getting up from the piano. Everyone dispersed. I waved at Alphonse as he went to get his make up removed.

"Madame Giry? Can I talk to you?" I asked when I caught her attention. She came over to me and asked what she could do for me. "I was wondering if you could teach me how to dance. I mean, since I'm in an Opera House and the only thing I have to do all day is clean one box that only takes about two hours to clean I thought it would be a good idea." I fidgeted a bit but Madame Giry smiled at me.

"I'd love to teach you the art of ballet. It would be wonderful to see you in our productions." I was relieved, for a second I was afraid she would say no. "Come with me, let's get you a ballet dress and slippers." I followed her to her office and she looked in the closet for a small white dress. "You're so small it'll be hard to find one.. just... right." She pulled out a small white corseted tutu. I laughed.

"A corset. Of course." I undid my dress and tried the white one on. it fit me as well as was to be expected since it was a corset. It was a little tight in the bust, but not enough to inhibit my breathing. She dove back in and found a pair of small white slippers and stockings.

"There, now you look the part. I'll meet you after dinner tomorrow for your first lesson." I changed back and thanked Madame Giry before rushing to the dormitories to tell Christine and Meg.

"There you are. We were wondering where you'd gone off to." Meg quipped at me as she saw me come in the door. I'd hidden the white dress behind my back.

"We thought you'd gone to the moon to see Lance Armstrong." We all laughed at that, but I was for a whole other reason.

"Oh, I was around. But screw the reason I wasn't here I need to tell you something." They gave me their full attention.

"Meg's mom is going to teach me ballet!" They gasped and congratulated me as I showed them the dress.

"We're so happy for you. Oh, it's going to be so much fun being in operas with you!" Christine said.

"I got another little surprise," I said. They leaned close.

"What? What?"

"It seems I've go a benefactor. I now have enough money to go out and buy a change of clothes!" I said holding out the bag of coins. They gasped when they saw the size. "And I need you two to come along with me to help chose the things out. God knows I'm lost."

"Where did you get all that money?" Meg whispered.

"Secret. But let's go spend!" I made a 'come with me!' motion.

"Let's go Saturday. We can spend more time out then." Christine suggested. I shrugged.

"Alright. I can't wait!"

**Another chapter! Review if you liked it! All the characters belong to themselves Leroux and Webber. Blaise and Danielle belong to me.**


	8. Chapter 8

I opened my eyes and shot up, all sleep had washed out of my consciousness. I shook the nightmare from my head as I rested my head on my knees, refusing to go back to sleep and let the nightmare get me again. I checked my watch, it was only five thirty. I rubbed my eyes and got up to do my morning routine, it was a nice Wednesday morning in February and next Monday _Faust _was going to open, since this was the play/movie version of Phantom I wasn't worried that Christine was going to be taken by Erik. Soon the Phantom as I knew it was going to start and I knew there was no way I could convince Erik not to put on Don Juan. Part of me wanted to blame Raoul for the fate of the Opera but I knew it wasn't his fault, in all likelihood Erik had gone into a jealous fit and done the only thing he knew how to do: attack.

I shook the thought out of my head as I walked down to the bathroom. Since I'd gotten up an hour early no one was in a mad dash for the bathroom. I filled the tub and slid under the hot water, trying to chase away the chill of the nightmare. I scrubbed my hair with my conditioner, breathing in the scent of baby powder. I let the hot water take away all my worries.

ERIK

"Erik, what are you hiding underneath that mask?" Danielle had come down to my home to talk with me. The conversation was idle and she'd turned it around to ask about my face.

"I am hiding my shame, this face is not worthy to be seen by anyone." I turned away from her and began to compose again.

"Come on, it can't be that bad." I turned to answer her when she ripped my mask off. Her eyes, once filled with laughter filled with disgust and horror as her pretty eyes were laid upon my face. Her body went rigid as she backed away from me, screaming "Monster. You're a monster! A demon!" She flattened her body against the wall and would not listen when I tried to get her to quiet. I slung my lasso around her neck and listened as she gasped for breath, clawing at the rope. Her legs grew weak as her strength left her, finally she was dead. As the red mist of anger lifted from my mind I looked in horror at my work. Good God, what have I done?

I woke with a start from the nightmare that had shredded, at least temporarily, my last strand of sanity. I could still see Danielle dead at my feet, horror forever frozen onto her innocent face. I shook my head, trying to dispel the image, but it would not leave. I left my home to check the ballet dormitories, I had to be sure that what I saw was a dream and nothing more.

I walked the tunnel that connected to the passageway into the dormitories and looked in. Danielle was there, thank God, in what looked like a troubled sleep. Her brow creased and her breathing was rapid. Her eyes flew open and she sat up, looking around to make sure that she was still safe. She sat for a while and checked her watch, she'd never get up this early but I knew that, just like me, she wanted to escape the horror of her nightmare. I followed her down the hall to see she was going into the bathroom. I wondered what had caused her nightmares; I know what caused mine.

When I was four my mother sold me to gypsies and turned away when I called for her. My father pulled her into a carriage and were gone.

"You're ours now boy." The gypsy man cawed at me before he shoved me into a cage like an animal and taking off as my screams for help melted into the cold London night. I'd never seen my parents again. As I grew I was hardly let out from that prison of a cage, not even to use the bathroom or take a turn about the woods we hid in when the police were hot on our trail for stealing something of value from one of the people who came to gawk at me. The Devil's Child. The freak. They would laugh and jeer as the horrible gypsy man would beat my little body with all he had in him.

The first night they put me on display I'd begged the people as they came in to help me but they had laughed at me pleas. The gypsy man came into the cage, kicked me in the ribs and pulled my mask off to show the crowd. Fifty men, women and children. Fifty faces filled with disgust and loathing. Again and again he ripped my mask off to reveal this abomination on my face and again and again people would laugh, scream or throw things at me. Most of the time all the above.

The gypsy man would beat me until I was black and blue all over before he left me to cry myself to sleep. In between towns The bruises would heal enough to not show so the gypsy man fixed that by whipping me mercilessly. Before the age of six I knew the horrors of this world better than any adult. I was given hardly anything to eat in those four years in the gypsy carnival, and what little I was was stale. Some of the kinder gypsies taught me little things about herbs and medicine, one kindly old woman taught me to read. I picked up many languages, soon speaking all of them fluently for the day I would make my escape. The only thing that kept me from losing every bit of my humanity was the knowledge I was gaining and the music the gypsies danced to around their campfires.

I had always loved music, since I could remember I had wanted to play instruments like the piano my parents had kept in the parlour. I did not know when I started playing but it seemed like reading music came before I could speak and the melodies I created haunted the mansion of my aristocratic parents. The few maids and butlers were sworn to secrecy of me, I was sure of it. My high fashion family could not stand it if the other aristocrats knew that their 'stillborn' son still walked the Earth. When they sold me I had no more piano.

When we were wondering somewhere in Greece the gypsy man brought in a crowd of finely dressed aristocrats. I was six and had grown out of my first mask and the gypsy had given me a burlap sack with eye holes that hardly allowed me to see out of them. This crowd pressed against the bars of my cage, taller men craned their necks to watch the gypsy man rip off the sack and pulled me by the hair Faces jeered back at me in expressions I was used to seeing; disgust, anger loathing.

"Beat the devil out of him!" A man in the crowd yelled. The gypsy man pulled the whip from his waist, the crowd laughed as he whipped me until my skin was a bloody mess. I looked at the faces again, way in the back I saw a woman and an older man. The woman had her hand clamped over her mouth and tears streaming down she cheeks. She was looking at me. Was she taking pity on me? Was she crying for me? The crowd left the tent, handing a small sack of money to the gypsy man.

"I'd like to have a private viewing of the child, if you don't mind." Came the soft voice of a woman. I managed to lift my head enough to see that it was the woman from the back and the man she was with.

"Isn't much left to look at." Came the voice of my slaver. How I hated him.

"I'm sure I could amuse myself for... ten minutes?" I saw her hand him a heavy looking sack of money. The gypsy man grinned, grabbing the money.

"Ten minutes of gawking at the Devil's Child privately, just for the two of you." He exited the room. The woman turned to me and slowly walked forward. I moved to the far end of my cage, scared she would hurt me too. She got on her knees and began to weep again.

"You poor boy, you poor sweet boy." She pulled food out of her bag and placed it in my cage, there was enough for a few decent meals, fruits, bread and dried meats. "No one should be treated like this. Come here." She reached her hands through the bars and I crawled towards her. She caressed my hair softly and I began to cry. It had been so long since I knew a kind touch. "Turn this way, I'll see if I can clean your back." I turned my back to her and she wiped a wet cloth against it. "This may sting." She applied some ointment to the cuts and I winced. "I wish I could help you more. You don't deserve this."

"Then why is this happening to me?" I rubbed the tears out of my eyes.

"Because there are horrible, horrible people on this Earth." The bitterness in her voice surprised me.

"We have to go now." The man spoke for the first time. I grasped her hand.

"Don't leave me." I begged her. Again she caressed the twisted skin of my face with a sweet smile.

"You'll see me again darling." I didn't let go of her hand. She hummed a tune softly to me and held me as best she could through the iron bars, I relaxed against her beating heart, thinking there was no music more beautiful. I blinked and she was gone. I spent months for her to come back but each day her face became fuzzier and fuzzier until I couldn't remember what she looked like at all. She must've been an angel, some goddess of mercy taking pity on me. Six months later we were in Paris. I had sewed some scraps of cloth into a little monkey, the only toy I had to amuse myself. I heard the gypsy man's living monkey screeching on the top of my prison, announcing the new crowd come to gawk at the freak. I ignored them and put some old finger symbols that one of the gypsy dancers had discarded on the hands of my little friend and chimed them together.

The cage door opened and my friend was kicked from my hands and the gypsy man knocked me over. I raised my hands in a weak effort to defend myself as he beat me with a wooden stick. I looked out at the crowd, hoping to recognize the woman's face, but it was filled with little ballerinas my age. The way their pretty faces contorted in laughter at my pain was disgusting.

I felt my strength leave me as the gypsy man again pulled off my mask to the horrified ballerinas. He forced my head up as all could see my shame. I tried to keep the tears from falling as they laughed at me. One girl, who held onto the bars of my cage looked at me with pity. Finally someone pitied me. It only made it worse that she was standing there watching the horrors that my life was. I cursed this abominable face for gifting me with the terrible life I was to suffer. Finally the gypsy man let me go to collect the coins tossed by the onlookers. I grabbed my mask and pulled it on as they left me alone with my tormentor.

No. Anger welled in me. I would not take this anymore! I undid a rope hanging from a bar of my cage. I crept up behind the greedy gypsy and threw the rope over his neck. He tried desperately to pull it off but I refused to let go. It was time I walked free. I picked up my monkey and looked up only to meet the eyes of the girl who had looked at me with pity. Would she call for the police? Quickly she opened the cage and ushered me out.

"Come with me quick." I wanted to ask why she was helping me when a shout rang up from outside the tent.

"Murderer!" We looked to the tent flap where another gypsy stood. She pulled me away to the back exit and we ran through the dark streets of Paris. Behind us came noises of pursuit, which had faded a bit as we came to the corner of a great building. She pushed me through a small passageway and told me to wait for her. I climbed down and went through a small passageway into a little chapel. I looked around and quickly found a door. The girl met up with me.

"This way!" She said as she pulled me down into a dark tunnel, I could hardly see in front of me.

"Where are we going?" I asked. Wherever it was it had to be better that with the gypsies. When we stopped running we were at the top of a long stairway that spiraled down into a darkness that looked deep as hell. All my emotions caught up with me and I burst into tears. "Thank you. Thank you." I let the sack covering my head to absorb my tears.

"Don't cry. I had to get you away from that horrible place, you can stay is the Opera Populaire, I'm a dancer here. My name is Antoinette Delaurier, what is yours?" I could hardly remember myself.

"Erik Destler. How can I stay here? Won't someone find me?" I looked down the stairs, not knowing what was at the end.

"You could hide in the tunnels underneath the Opera. I found this tunnel when I was exploring a while ago and at the end of this staircase there is a boat, I'm sure that there's a land mass that you can convert into a home for yourself. I'll try to get you food and clothing and some materials for you to create your home." I was amazed that this girl was willing to help me with so much when she hardly knew me.

"Thank you," I said again for lack of anything to say.

"Wait here while get something for you to eat and wear." She turned to go but I grabbed her dress, hating to look of the clean white under my grubby hands.

"Don't leave me here." I begged her. She pulled her dress from my grip.

"You can't come with me, the cooks will suspect something and I don't think we could walk down the halls without being noticed. I will be back soon. Here, you can come with me until the hall, but you have to wait there with the light." I nodded and followed her until the hall where she broke off. "I'll only be ten minutes." I hid the light behind the corner and waited for her in the shadows. It seemed like hours until she returned. She handed me me some of her bundle and threw a thick blanket over my shoulders before picking up the light and starting down the long stairway.

We got to the end and there was a small, old wooden boat. "I know it does not look very sturdy and that's why no one will come check here. You could build traps to stop them from finding you and live here." She Tied a long piece of twine to the top of a pillar on the dock, "It's best to be safe than sorry." And used the long pole to push off from the dock. We glided through the water for a while as I let the twine unravel behind us. Antoinette told me that these caverns were created during the revolutionary war in 1792.

"Up there!" I pointed to a land mass that was perfect. It must've been used to hide weapons or people, there was a stone stair that led up to a small area that I could convert into a bedroom.

"If you could get the material you could build yourself a home down here. I'll help you of course, but I'm not sure where we could get wood." She docked the boat and we stumbled out. "They are constantly getting rid of furniture upstairs, I'm sure we could bring some down here." She pulled the bundle out of the boat and set out the objects inside. She'd brought me new clothes, though they did look used it was better than what I had on some more blankets, candles and food. At the sight of it my mouth watered. How long had it been since I'd last eaten? "Here, you look like you need a bath and this lake is pretty clean." She handed me a bar of soap, I was embarrassed at my filth.

"Thank you." I went into the lake and rubbed the bar against my skin until some of the dirt came off.

"Why do you wash with that sack on your face?" I turned to face Antoinette.

"I don't want you to see my face. I can't look at myself." I shook my head. She couldn't understand, I thought.

"I have already seen your face, it wouldn't matter if I saw it again." She took off her cloak and stockings and tied up she skirts. "Come here and let me help you." She looked so sincere I obeyed her. She gently pulled off my mask as I stood before her squeezing my eyes shut. "Sit down so I can wash your hair." I looked up at her. She showed no change in emotion as she looked into my face. I sat in front of her and let her wash me clean; I thanked whatever God had sent her to my aid. "There, now you're all clean," she said. She took me to the bank and helped me dry. I put on the clothes and felt like I could go to a night at the opera.

"Thank you, I haven't been treated like I was part of the human race since... never. Not even my parents could treat me with love because of this face." I held my hand over the right side of my face, hiding the mark that had ruined my life. I hated humans. Every last one of them. Except Antoinette and the woman that had taken pity of me. I had to face the very real fact that I'd never see her again and she would only become a memory of a memory.

"You are welcome but I must go back, it's been too long since I disappeared, they'll begin to worry." She put her stockings back on and climbed into the boat again.

"When will you come back?" I asked her.

"Tomorrow. I'll try to bring more candles and clothes, maybe some furniture. We could use the wood to create a bed for you." She pushed off and went through the tunnels again. I was left alone. I almost felt a bit bit better that I could sit and gather my thoughts. Yes, I knew how to build things, I'd seen the gypsies do it millions of times when they had to fix the cages. I could build my home in this place. I arranged the blankets into that of a bed and fell into a deep sleep that was dominated by nightmares.

Antoinette came back the next day as she promised, thought I had no idea of the time that passed. The boat was loaded with pieces of wood and building tools along with several pieces of clothing, I suspected them to be cast offs from previous plays. Antoinette had a big smile on her face. "You'll never guess what the Opera is getting rid of!"

"What?" I said bewildered.

"A wonderful, beautiful bed from a performance of _La Lujuria Secreto. _It is iron in the shape of a swan with red velvet pillows. They said that they were reviewed badly that play and they'll never put it on again and to prove it they are throwing out the most expensive prop. You could help me take it apart and bring it down here. I already have the cushions," she waved towards the scarlet pillows underneath the wood, "it would not be easy but I'm sure you will like it." I helped her unload and got into the boat and pushed off. It was not easy taking the swan apart. First the wings then the neck and for the body I had to leave Antoinette at the bank and come back for her.

"If the swan was going to be my bed then what is the wood for?" I asked. I hardly spoke to her, after so long without someone to speak to it was a hard habit to adopt.

"I thought you could use a desk encase you wanted somewhere to set candles. you will need a lot to fill this room." She was right, it was dark as Hell in here. "Do you need anything?" Antoinette said as she helped me reattach the second wing to the side of the swan.

"Could you get me some paper and ink?" I wanted to work on my writing and reading skills along with writing down the melodies that had been stuck in my head since I was deprived of my piano. "And music sheets?" She looked at me with surprise.

"You play an instrument? You must let me listen to you play sometime." Soon the bed was in one piece and Antoinette put the pillows and blankets on. It was indeed a beautiful bed and I was grateful Antoinette had thought to salvage it for me.

"My parents sold me to the gypsies when I was four and they used to let me play the piano in their parlor for hours." She looked horrified at the actions of the people who were responsible for bringing me into this world that had rejected me.

"That is the worst thing I could ever imagine to do to a person. I'm so sorry." Her strong french accent became heavier as the sorrow in her voice leaked through. Then a smile crossed her lips.

"In a few days the new performance will begin. During those three days after the last show ends and the new one begins everyone goes home or goes to a friends home for a break. You could play one of the pianos the the orchestra keeps for the shows and to help the actors learn their songs." I could hardly wait to play again. It seemed like years before she led me through the hallways of the Opera and sat me again at the instrument that I loved most. My hands flew across the keys and I lost track of the time. Too soon was Antoinette telling me I had to go back.

As the months grew on the orchestra was able to buy new instruments and I salvaged a cello, violin, harp and flute. They would not need a new piano but they did give me the makings of an organ. Antoinette helped me assemble this and soon it sat beautifully in my home. Every drawer was filled with music, some of my own and some Antoinette gave me from her productions. As I grew older I acquired a porcelain mask that covered my face and tried to attend every show. I had inside knowledge of the Opera House, I'd memorized every nook and cranny, every secret passageway in the tunnels below. It was as if I had become a ghost; a phantom that haunted the Opera House. It was after my fourteenth birthday, six years after I'd come to the Opera Populaire, when I found out that the financial manager of the Opera was stealing money from the Opera each month. I pulled him from his office one night and hung him from the rafters.

"Who are you?" He asked as I was about to push him over the edge, sending him to his death.

"I am the Phantom of the Opera." I sent him over and smiled with grim satisfaction when I heard his neck snap. I left a note telling the manager of what he had done and signed it 'The Phantom'. Antoinette wasn't happy I had killed him and told me that I could have told her what he was doing and had her tell the manager. "He would not have listened to you, you are still only a dancer." Not long after Antoinette began getting courted by a young man named Fredric Giry. He was fairly well off as his father was a lawyer and was soon to take up the practice. Antoinette had explained that he was a 'fair man' who took cases for the less fortunate. I'd bet that he'd come to laugh at me when I was still caged.

"You are leaving me," I said as Antoinette told me of her impending marriage. I couldn't stop the hurt from welling within me.

"No, no! I will still be here helping Madame Landri with the dancers. Erik I wouldn't leave you, you are my friend and you mean the world to me." I felt my heart fill a little bit. "My marriage only means that my world will expand to include my husband as well. I'd like for you to come to my wedding but I don't think you'd like to be around all those people." I felt relief that she knew I'd like to be there but couldn't Antoinette was really a kind woman and good friend. I began sending notes to the manager demanding he keep box 5 empty for me so I could watch Antoinette's creations come to life and then demanded a salary to keep the cast 'safe'. The manager was only too happy to comply. Antoinette soon became 'Madame Giry' to the girls after Madame Landri passed and I could have not been happier for her.

"Erik, wonderful news!" She burst into my home when I was seventeen looking like nothing could ever have been better. I guessed she took the passage directly to my home, I hadn't been listening, only Antoinette knew of that passage. The main one I had rigged with traps for intruders and I informed Antoinette with each new one.

"What?" I hadn't the foggiest idea as to what could make her so elated. "I am going to have a child Erik! I'm going to be a mother!" I congratulated her, knowing that she would be a wonderful mother to the child, even if it was born as deformed as I. And so came into the world little Marguerite Giry or Meg as her mother called her. I understood she had her fathers eyes. "I'd like you to be the god father Erik." I was honored and accepted, though I'd never be known to the child. After only five years of marriage Antoinette's husband died in an accident. I'd never seen her so sad in my life. I did everything I could to help her through her hard time, trying to repay her for when she helped me and pulled her out of her despair by telling her that she needed to care for her daughter as her only parent left. A day later Antoinette held herself together and did her job. I was impressed she could heal, at least part way, so quickly. I got another little surprise later that day when my little Meg visited me with a fistful of daisies.

She toddled up to me and said "Tank you for fixing mommy." I brought her back to her worried mother and thanked her for the flowers. I kept them dried between two statues I'd acquired here and there. Years later I sat in box 5 and watched little Meg and Christine become friends as Gustav and Monsieur Lefèvre worked out the days he would play his violin after he witnessed the triumph the was _Hannibal._ It was spectacular and it pained me to find he died only a few months later, leaving young Christine orphaned. As she prayed for her father night after night I finally took pity on her enough to speak to her. I became her Angel of Music and grew to love her as she matured. Never had I ever thought by Antoinette saving me I'd find the woman I loved. I had plans for her to shine in the next production. _Hannibal._ Christine would be Elissa if Lefèvre knew what was good for this Opera.

**Long chapter! Sorry it was late, but I do have a life Character belong to their creators. Did I freak you out with the beginning? Erik would never kill Danielle! Sorry if I scared you! Review! Hope you enjoyed! Everyone belongs to their respective people!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

I got out of the tub and went back to the dormitories to find that Christine and Meg were just waking up.

"Welcome to the world of the conscious mind ladies, where cats cannot speak Russian." They looked at me, surprised that I was up before them. Or at the way I chose to get them up. Either or.

"What are you doing up so early?" Meg asked. Usually she and Christine had to drag me out of bed before seven.

"I had nightmares and I couldn't sleep." No use lying.

"About what?" Christine sat up, bleary eyed. I really didn't want to talk about it.

"I don't know you well enough to tell you yet." I didn't wait to see if I had offended them before I turned around and left the room calling over my shoulder that I'd watch them practice from box 5. I got my cleaning stuff and went to the box, hoping that Erik wouldn't make an appearance and use his super keen senses to deduce I was in a crappy mood. I still had my ballet lesson with Madame Giry after practice and I decided I had to try and perk up before that. I hope I can go home before the Devil's Carnival comes out, I've been waiting months to see it, ever since I saw the promo for it with Terrance whatever-his-last-name-is. I loved the song and had already memorized it.

"_The ship, it swayed, heave ho, heave ho,_  
_On the dark and stormy blue,_  
_And I held tight to the Captain's might_  
_As he pulled up his trews._  
_You haven't slept, heave ho, he said,_  
_In many suns and moons._  
_Oh, I will sleep when we reach shore,_  
_And pray we get there soon._  
_He said, Now hush love, here's your gown._  
_There's the bed, lantern's down._  
_But I don't want to go to sleep; in all my dreams, I drown._

_The Captain howled Heave ho, heave ho_  
_And tied me up with sheets_  
_A storm is brewing in the South_  
_It's time to go to sleep_  
_His berth, it rocks, heave ho, heave ho_  
_The ocean gnashed and moaned_  
_Like Jonah will be swallowed whole_  
_And spat back teeth and bones_  
_He said, Now hush love, here's your gown._  
_There's the bed, lantern's down._  
_But I don't want to go to sleep; in all my dreams, I drown._

_Captain! Captain!_  
_I will do your chores_  
_I will warm your cot at night_  
_And mop your cabin floors_  
_Scold me, hold me_  
_I'll be yours to keep_  
_The only thing I beg of you_  
_Don't make me go to sleep_

_The sky it flashed, heave ho, heave ho,_  
_His pillow toed to the brink._  
_The curtains ran between my legs as we began to sink._  
_I closed my eyes, heave ho, heave ho,_  
_As the ship was rent and fell._  
_Eddies in the water headed to the mouth of Hell_  
_Hush now, hush love, here's your gown._  
_There's the bed, lantern's down._  
_I'm begging you please wake me up_  
_In all my dreams I..._" I let my voice trail away from me as the song ended. I had cleaned all the chairs and the curtains through the song. Although singing had always made me feel better the song wasn't a good choice, though Terrance has a deep sexy voice. It was a pity that he was married or I'd have to hit on him. If I ever met him. Most likely not.

"Your voice is lovely in alto or soprano." I looked up from cleaning under the chairs to see Erik standing behind me.

"Jesus darling, don't you know how to make a sound?" I could've wet my pants. Dress. Whatever.

"I hardly ever speak to anyone, I don't need to talk to people in my line of work." Did he just make a joke? The Phantom of the Opera just made a joke. Holy crap.

"Well you're talking to me now. And you planned to talk to me so why did you sneak up on me? Trying to give me a fright?" I winked at him and went back to cleaning the box.

"Why did you have a nightmare?" I was so shocked I stopped cleaning for a second.

"That's none of your business Erik Destler. Whatever torments my psyche should be of no concern to you." My voice came out fast and harsh, like the rocks that knock against your legs when a wave comes in to meet the shore.

"What have you to hide?" Erik asked softly, I could hear the hurt in his voice.

"I don't know you well enough to get into my personal problems with you darling." I caressed the unmasked side of his face. He stiffly accepted the touch of another human being. I knew it was hard for him.

"You know about me, I suspect that you know quite a bit more than you're telling me but I know next to nothing about you." He was right, I knew everything about him, well, the various versions of him. I just wasn't ready to tell him about me.

"My favorite color is blue," I said smiling up at him. "That's something to start with." He looked a little amused. "I'm going shopping with Christine and Meg on Saturday; we're going to give your bank a work out." He looked confused and I laughed. "It means I'm going to spend your money on girly things." I bit back laughter as Erik's face went pink.

"I hope you have fun." He turned away to go out the door and disappear like he would as a Phantom.

"Did you want to talk about something?" Did he just want to find out what I was dreaming?"

"You seem unwilling to share what I want to know, so I will not force it out of you." He walked out of the room with a swish of his cape. I quickly followed him out into the hall but he had disappeared.

"One day when I feel comfortable enough I'll tell you all you want to know." I walked back in the room to finish cleaning.

ERIK

When Danielle called me darling a little hope filled in my heart. Maybe she'd stay and fulfill all of my dreams of her career. Christine still was too shy to sing the lead, too unsure of her voice even though it was angelic. It would be hard enough to convince Monsieur Lefèvre to fire Carlotta as it is.

What was Danielle's nightmare? Maybe it was a secret fear. She always seemed so strong and confident that a weakness could shatter her self image. Maybe she had a horrible childhood like I did. I decided to watch tonight as she had her lesson for dancing. I knew she said she'd never danced ballet before, maybe she would have a talent for it. When she moved she was very conscious of her body and Antoinette had explained that was important in a dancer. I pulled myself into one of the secret doors in the walls I knew about as I heard Danielle come out of the room.

"One day when I feel comfortable enough I'll tell you all you want to know." I heard her say as she walked back into the room. This raised so many questions. What was it that was done to her that was so horrible that she couldn't talk about it?

DANIELLE

I sat in box 5 and watched Carlotta throw a grade A bitch fit. She should start acting like she deserves the prima donna roles she gets, why does she still get the lead if they have to put up with her constant bitchiness? I wondered if I could lob a wadded up rag and bean her in the head. No, bad Danielle. I'd get in more trouble than it was worth, even if it was funny. I watched Carlotta storm out, leaving the rehearsal the day before they performed. If I did that back home I'd get fired. Or kicked out of my Drama class, whatever you wanna call it.

We all knew that Carlotta would come back, she loved the spotlight too much to stay away. The cast was told they could leave early, that they needed to rest up for the show tomorrow. Madame Giry insisted that they stay an hour longer but they still got out two hours before they usually did. I walked back to the dormitories with Christine and Meg and changed into the white tutu.

"Why are you in a tutu? I thought you were a cleaning girl." One of the ballerinas asked as she peeled off her own tutu.

"I asked Madame Giry to teach me how to dance. I wanted to be in shows with you guys but I figured I needed to at least know the basics." The girls squealed and encouraged me to do my best, saying how much fun it would be to dance together. I bowed out of the room and went to meet Madame Giry on the stage.

"Good, you came." She smiled at me as I walked up to her.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" I asked

"I wasn't sure. I want you to know it's going to be hard to learn this, ballet isn't something you can give up on and walk away from, you have to keep going." I knew it was going to be hard, but I wanted to do it anyway.

"I know, I still want to try." She smiled at me again.

"Alright, let's start with the basics."

We worked on the basics until about five minutes dinner was going to be served. "That was very good for a first try. You are getting the hang of this quite quickly. Now, go wash up for dinner and I want you to stretch all of your muscles before you meet me after rehearsals on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; is this schedule unconflicted?"

"Yeah, it gives me something to do every day besides clean that box." It kinda got boring doing nothing for most of the day besides walk around the Opera and I wasn't brave enough to spontaneously go visit Erik, setting aside the fact that there was never any guarantee that he'd be home. I'd be able to start dancing in between working and dinner, since it only took me about four hours to clean the entire box, it wasn't very big, it wasn't exactly small but it was about as big as a small kitchen without all the nooks under furniture that were really hard to clean. I washed my face, changed and went to get dinner, meeting up with Christine and Meg at the dining hall.

"How was your first ballet lesson with my mom?" Meg asked.

"It went pretty well, I mean she only taught me the basics but she said I was a pretty good beginner." I took a bite of the chicken before I continued. "I used to make up dances with my friends back home to our favorite songs and perform them on the streets." Christine looked at me with wide eyes.

"You danced on the street for money?" She sounded horrified.

"Yeah, during street fairs and farmer's markets or just for fun; when we went back to one of our houses we'd divide the money between us." I remembered our first performance, we had been so scared, but as soon as we hit the stage our act became electric. I still wonder how three awkward Sophomores got the guts up to dance in the talent show. "Come to think of it, one of my friends is a ballerina so she must have taught me some ballet things in the past." I shrugged.

"Oh, I thought you meant that you meant that you flaunted your body for money," Christine said. I almost choked on my water.

"That's a pretty big assumption, Chrissy," I said back at her. I didn't know women flaunted themselves like that, but there's a lot of French history I didn't know. Hell, all I knew was the horrible story of their revolution and how they had left their boy king in a tower prison where he lost his mind and slowly died.

"I'm sorry, I know it must be different where you're from." Christine went red. Serves her right. God, I could start to feel my muscles aching, I was in for a hell of a time tomorrow.

"Danielle what do you do all day while we're rehearsing?" Meg spoke up for the first time. I guessed she was extra hungry from doing those crazy moves she had to do with only two other girls, I guessed Meg was the Prima Donna ballerina or whatever you called it.

"I mostly wander around the Opera, finding little rooms or helping out some of the staff with their work. I like working with the cooking staff, I've always been good at cooking. And baking." A few weeks ago I learned how to bake brownies and cakes from scratch. I definitely had to stop using the ready made mix when I got home.

"Have we eaten anything that you made?" Meg asked.

"You remember that ugly ass cake monster thing? My earliest creation." They began to laugh.

"My goodness, that looked _horrible, _but it tasted wonderful. I could've eaten three of them." Meg laughed. I was happy that they liked my Frankenstein pastry.

"Well, looks aren't everything." In every sense of being.

"I can't wait for our shopping trip Saturday, it'll be so much fun. Christine and I know a store that had good quality clothes and low prices so you can save some of the money your benefactor gave to you." I could tell she was curious as to whom my benefactor was; it was too bad she'll never find out. Well, not until Don Juan. Or maybe he'll completely leave me out of his plans to get Christine. I felt guilty for considering it, Christine was my friend, no matter how much she hurt Erik.

"That sound great. I don't really know what I need to get, seeing as I'm not from around these parts. Are there dresses that I wouldn't need to wear this death constrictor with?" The snickered.

"Yes but they have a built in type of corset instead, not much more comfortable than a real one." I felt my hope drop into a pit in my stomach. Why was it always the corset? It'll deform me and everyone else that has to wear them.

"Yippee. Really, I'm jumping for joy inside. Pardon me if I sound a little lack luster." I rested my hand against my forehead and pretended to swoon.

"Oh you're so dramatic." Meg nudged me with her shoulder. I nudged her back.

"So the big day's tomorrow, you excited?" I could almost feel the energy radiating off of them.

"Oh yes! I can't wait for _Faust _to be performed in front of an audience, we've been working so hard!" Christine turned red from acting so "unladylike." Christine always tried to be calm and collected and when she let all her emotions out she felt embarrassed. It was cute; I could see why Erik loved her.

"I can't wait to watch it. I'll be in box 5." The look on their faces was priceless.

"Don't go in there for the play! The Phantom always watches the performances from there, if he catches you there he'll kill you." They whispered to me like they were telling me a dark secret.

"Please. We've come to an understanding and he'll leave me alone as long as I don't absolutely screw up his box." They looked terrified; I wonder how Christine would act if she knew who her teacher really was. "Just because you two are as deep as a puddle and stay away doesn't mean I have to follow your example."

"What do you mean? The Phantom is a murderer!" Meg said as Christine went pale.

"Does he ever kill without a reason? Just because someone is portrayed as a bad person doesn't mean you shouldn't give them a chance. And he's been very civil to me." I almost choked on my tongue trying not to say that Erik was my friend.

"I highly doubt that he acts or thinks like a human being." Christine said curtly. I hope Erik didn't hear her, that'd break his heart.

"Your call. He hasn't hurt me in any way and I'm 'invading his territory'." I wouldn't waste my breath trying to persuade them otherwise.

"I hope you don't actually try and watch Faust in his box. We just don't want to see you hurt," Meg said.

"Thanks but I'll be fine." I tried to calm their fears but they were there. I just hoped the play went well with them being distracted by my well being. I tried, and failed, to hide a jaw cracking yawn. "Sorry, I'm beat; I think I'll just go to bed." I got up,brushed my teeth and climbed into bed thinking about how sore my muscles will be tomorrow.

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update, I have a lot of school stuff I need to do and could only find a little time to write. I'll try to keep a steady updating schedule, but I'm really busy for the next two weeks. Remember to review and the characters belong to their rightful persons.**


	10. Chapter 10

I woke up with my muscles feeling like they'd been pummeled like one of those punching bag things that they have in gyms that train the muscle bound freaks we call 'professional wrestlers.' Ugh. I had to clamp my lips together to keep from bleating like a lamb. I painfully rolled over and glanced at the other beds. They were all full and it was dark outside. I looked at my watch and saw that it was five in the morning. Again. I didn't feel sleepy anymore and it would be useless to try and sleep now. I threw my sore legs over the side of the bed and dressed quietly, I didn't want to wake anyone up and I didn't feel like taking a bath. I decided to visit Erik, I didn't know when he got up but if he was still in bed I'd leave and clean the box until it was a more reasonable hour.

I crept down to the little passageway Erik had shown me with a candle. I didn't know what I was going to talk about with Erik but I didn't want to be alone and Erik knew I was from the future. Being with Meg and Christine was fun but they were so girly and I, well I wasn't exactly a tomboy, but I wasn't that girly. Erik was a guy and what he had to say interested me more than talking about which shoes were prettier. They look exactly the same GET OVER IT.

Erik's home was still lit by candle light that never wavered. I walked in quietly, trying not to make a noise if he was asleep. I heard something shuffling near the life size Christine mannequin and went to check it out. Erik had his back to me and he was elbow deep in the contents of my back pack. I could see that his mask was off but he had kept his wig on. Anger filled me and I thought about yelling at him; I just a quickly thought of the perfect punishment. I turned to face the opposite direction.

"Did I not instruct that you were not to touch my things?" I hears Erik get up and spin around. I wish I could see his face right now, must be like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Really Erik, I would have hoped for more from Le Fantôme de l'Opéra." I smiled to myself. "Now, if you don't want me to see your face, put your mask back on and give me an explanation as to why you were going through my personal belongings." I heard his footsteps walk past me as I looked out at the lake.

"Alright, you can turn around now." I let my face twist into a frown.

"Are you sure it's okay to turn around? I do so hate looking into the face of the person that had betrayed my trust." I said snidely. I felt his hand on my shoulder as he gently turned me around. I kept my face as impassive as I could, letting him see the hurt in my eyes.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have looked through your things-"

"Damn-fuckin'-right you shouldn't have."

"But how much you seem to know about my life unnerves me. I thought I could find out more about you if I looked through the things you brought to my time." Shame stung at his eyes as he looked at me with his unwavering gaze.

"I told you that I'd tell you more about me when we knew each other better. If this is how you resolve to learn about me I'm not sure I'll ever be able to trust you enough to tell you anything about me." I willed myself not to cry. I should've expected this, but I still couldn't have left my things in the dormitories where the ballerinas would he the things from the future. "You wanna know what's in here so bad? Fine." I pulled out my three pairs of jeans. "Pants!" I threw them at him. "Shirts!" I tossed the three shirts I unearthed at him, one of which smacked him in the face. "Camera, phone, bra!" I waved the bras as him before tucking them away so they kept my electronics from touching the bottom of the bag and getting broken if it was tossed around. "My wallet, underwear and books are in my room now, I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to rummage through them."

Erik pulled my clothes of himself and threw them back at me. "You're the one who refuses to speak at all about yourself. How am I supposed to trust you if I don't know anything about you?"

"You mean manipulate. You want me to do your bidding like a puppet attached to the strings you hold. I'm not some weak willed inamorata that can't save herself, Erik. You're the one who went through my things, you should apologize and maybe I'll forgive you." I knew I was the one who was going to have to stop this before he flew into one of his rages but I just wanted him to say he was sorry.

"I will if you would just tell me what you dreamt last night!" Erik yelled.

ERIK

This was infuriating,I needed to know more about her and here I am asking but she refuses to tell me what that dream was about. It's so insignificant to all the other questions I could ask her. As soon as the words leave my lips I wish I could take them back. Emotions begin to dance across her face one after the other. Anger, confusion, defeat then sorrow; complete, gut wrenching sorrow.

"Erik What was done to me was horrible. The worst memory that can ever be forced to be remembered. Don't make me remember Erik, it scares me." She slid to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest, as if to guard herself. Her hands were clamped over her ears as if to shut out a horrible noise and tears slipped down her cheeks. What had been done to her was as bad as what had been done to me; and I had forced those horrible memories from the vault of her mind into her waking thoughts. I was despicable. Her hair hung in a veil, hiding her face from me better than any mask as soft screams and mutters fell from her lips as shudders racked her body.

"Danielle, I'm sorry." He seemed to not have heard me. "Danielle." I gently shook her shoulder. She looked at me then, with eyes that looked past me to someone else standing in my place. Her lips had gone pale and fear and sorrow pushed to the front of her eyes.

"Please don't hurt me, I'll be good. I promise just please, please don't hurt me anymore." Her voice sounded infantile, childlike. As if the years to make her a woman had turned back. Her ruined make up turned her tears black as they ran down her dark cheeks; she kept saying 'I'll be good' over and over before finally slipping into a faint. I carried her to my bed and lay her down as feelings of self loathing threatened to choke me. I had pushed her too far. Now she could be catatonic for all I knew! And it was my fault, all my fault. Never before had I doubted my humanity until now. Now I was truly a demon, no better than the people who had pointed and laughed at me before Madame Giry rescued me.

An hour passed, slow and torturous. I checked on Danielle every ten minutes. I had just sat down at my organ again when a voice came from behind me.

"Who're you?" I turned to see Danielle. She had a pillow clutched to her chest and peeked out from the top of it like a bashful child. "Where's my mama?" Her eyes were wide and innocent, with no hate or anger in them, only a child's curiosity.

"Danielle... don't you know me?" Panic rose in me and I got up and walked up the steps towards her. She cocked her head to the side.

"You're the guy on the big screen that mama took me to see. You're the Phantom." She dropped the pillow and smiled at me. "Will you sing for me like you did Chrissy?" My heart softened.

"What happened at the end of the story that you saw on the big screen?" I had no idea what she was talking about but I wanted to know my future. She shook her head.

"I dunno, I fell asleep after the beginning where the red haired lady was being a meanie and Crissy stopped talking to her daddy's picture. Mama woke me at the end and we went home." She rubbed her eyes like a child would after taking a nap, something I had seen my little goddaughter Meg do after her naps. With a jolt I realized the last years of her life were lost, the years after the accident that had scarred her. Since she was talking and acting like a child I could only deduce she had been scarred as a young child. They thought made it feel as if my heart was being ripped from my chest.

"Yes Danielle, you are right. I am the Phantom." I smiled at her the best I could. She smiled back, a smile that lit her whole face up like the soft light of a candle.

"Will you sing for me?" She asked again. "I never got ta hear you sing the first time on the big screen 'cause I was asleep and mama didn't want ta wake me up 'cause it was past my bedtime." She pouted, it was almost comical seeing a young woman acting like a child. In any other situation I would have laughed but not now.

"Alright. Come sit down." She came and sat beside me on the organ bench and I began to play Psyche, hoping she would recognize it and remember me. "_Hätte ich lebte bis jetzt_  
_Hatte ich bis jetzt gesehen_  
_Psyche._  
_Wie konnte ich so lange ohne dich gegangen_  
_Psyche._  
_Ihre Augen leuchten meine Welt_  
_Wie die Sterne von den Göttern geschmiedet_  
_Ihre Augen wie der blaue dass nur Hermes sieht so tief in den Himmeln._  
_Meine Psyche._  
_Ich kann dich nicht lieben aus der Ferne_  
_Ich brauche dich bei mir_  
_Neben mir._  
_Sagen Sie bleiben_  
_Psyche."_She pulled me up from the bench and spun around the sandy shore with me and laughed.

"Don't stop singing, let's dance too!" She said.

"_Lassen Sie mich halten dich in meine Arme_  
_Lassen Sie mich Ihnen zeigen, den Himmel, wie Sie noch nie gesehen haben_  
_Nicht scheuen mir jetzt meine Psyche._  
_Die Mutter ist so grausam_  
_So, meine Liebe meine_  
_Sie sollten stattdessen bestraft werden!_  
_Meine reizende Psyche_  
_Sagen Sie mir, zu lieben_  
_Psyche Ich werde Sie!"_She spun one last time and bowed to me and I copied the gesture. She sprung up and began to clap enthusiastically.

"Yay! Hooray! Brava, brava, bravissima! Bow, bow." I smiled at her and have a deep bow, I never thought that she would be using my own words to compliment me.

"You're really good, are you a famous person?" She asked as she plopped down right where she had been standing. I sent her a rueful smile.

"Yes, I am some sort of famous." It wasn't technically a lie, all of Paris knew of the Phantom of the Opera Populaire.

"How are you sort of famous?" She cocked her head to the side again.

"Most people believe I don't exist." A bewildered expression graced her faced.

"That's dumb. You're right here, how could you not exist?" I began to laugh. This little Danielle was bringing laughter to my heart, something I had not felt before. Being with her felt like it was right. I couldn't explain it, I just felt whole.

"Not a lot of people have seen me." She nodded her head.

"You mean because you haven't performed a lot. I don't see why, you sing really good."

"Thank you little one." I found myself saying before I realized the words had come to my lips. She stood up and pulled me back to my organ.

"Put my hair in piggy tails." I sat completely shocked.

"What?"

"Put my hair in piggy tails. Mama does so my hair doesn't get in my eyes and I don't know how." The absurdity of this moment silenced me for a minute as she sat there looking expectantly at me. "Please?" She asked.

"Alright." I complied, I didn't know what else to do. I pulled two black ribbons I used to tie on red roses and give to Christine after her shows and gathered up half of her hair and tied it up on top of her head, then I did the other side. I thought I did well considering I'd never done it before. She skipped off to admire them in one of my mirrors before turning around.

"Thank you!" She twirled around, making her long pigtails swing around her.

"You're welcome." I was nice having someone down with me that was so wholly innocent and enjoyed the simplest things.

"Play your big piano again, I liked how it sounded." She sat and smiled up at me.

"It's not a piano, it is an organ. See the pipes? They make a richer sound than a piano." She looked around at the pipes, studying them hard.

"This is the kind of instrument they play in churches, right?" The way she pronounced 'instrument' was slightly off but it still impressed me that she knew it.

"Yes it is." I had never set foot in a church but it was common knowledge that organs were played in church. I began to play a song of my own creation, one I had written after I heard Gustave Daae's wonderful violin. It was truly a wonder how well that man had played the violin; his playing could have rivaled mine, I would have loved to have the honor of playing a duet with him. I was not a man for flattery or exaggerating, I would not say that if it was not true. The song was soft and slow, notes dancing together like a ballet. Before the song ended I noticed that Danielle had fallen asleep, her head resting against my shoulder. I didn't want to move her in fear of waking her so we sat like that for a while before she began to stir.

"What am I doing here and dare I ask why my hair is in pigtails?" She groaned and rubbed her temples.

"You don't remember? You asked me to." I guessed she had regained her memory of before but forgot the time when she passed out and began acting like a child.

"Huh. I guess I had my nuclear meltdown for the day." She rubbed her face before looking at me. "I guess you had to deal with little me." She didn't say it as a question, she knew.

"Yes. Are you alright? What happened?" I couldn't help asking, only realizing after I said it that it could hurt her worse if I brought it up again.

"I'm fine, it's just when I'm under serious mental stain I kind of... go offline. I never remember what happens during it and it's only happened a few times. I regress back to when things were okay. When everything was perfect." She looked so distant all of a sudden, so different from the girl I had seen before. She looked at me with clear eyes devoid of emotion, so different from those of the child that I had spoken to earlier.

"Horrible things have happened to me Erik. Things I never want to speak about. I'm sure you understand that." I nodded my head; she sighed before continuing. " I don't have any choice but to forgive you for snooping through my things, you weren't brought up with much manners were you Mio Angelo Della Musica?" I was just about to yell at her when she kissed my cheek. "I gotta go up top." She walked away while I was still speechless and looked in the mirror. "I guess I'll keep my hair up since you went to such trouble to do it."

"So you forgive me?" I asked as I walked over to her to see her out. She looked back at me with a small smile.

"Yeah, I forgive you ya great lug, but I have to go, Christine and Meg and everyone else will be worrying for me." She walked up the tunnel that led her to the Opera above. "But as an apology present you'll have to clean your own box for a week!" She turned a corner and was gone. I could hardly believe what had just happened. I grabbed my cape and followed her, wanting to make sure she got back alright.

DANIELLE

I walked into the dorms to see the room was empty. I looked at my watch that I had left on my bedside table that morning and saw it was eight. They'd be rehearsing one last time before their performance that night. I ran to the stage and sat in the audience. I waved at Meg who nudged Christine and pointed to me. They looked visibly relieved and went back to dancing, I knew they were going to corner me as soon as they were given a break.

I was right. An hour later they finished the last act and Carlotta began bitching so everyone was given a break.

"Where were you? When you weren't in bed we got so worried!" Meg said. I felt bad for making them worry about me.

"Sorry, I woke up early again and went to clean the box." They still looked a little worried but were quickly called away again to dance. It was really cool being able to watch the play with no one else around, people weren't whispering or talking loudly to each other and bothering me. Carlotta was too bitchy to enjoy but the ballet scenes were amazing. I couldn't believe that someday I'd be able to do that, well, if I didn't find a way home and was good enough.

"NO! You stupid girl, you dance wrong and knock into me on purpose!" Carlotta screamed at some unfortunate ballet girl. Alphonse looked over at me and rolled his eyes. I suppressed a bout of laughter. Carlotta rubbed her arm where the girl, I think her name was Anette, had knocked into her. I didn't know if it actually hurt or if she was just doing it for the effect. I took off my shoes and tucked my feet under me. The only thing I knew about _Faust _was that it was the play in the book that Erik stole Christine away from and that is was about cheating the devil, which I found out from V for Vendetta, another of my favorite movies.

Piangi mispronounced one of his lines and the orchestra master stopped the entire show to tell him that if he didn't pronounce it 'Gazing at those deep solitudes beneath my feet' instead of 'Gaazin at does deep soliltoods beneeth mah feet' he was going to pull him out of the show and the understudy would take his place, the one who could pronounce all the words correctly. And I have to admit, Piangi's double was pretty easy on the eyes. Piangi's constant screw ups were pretty funny but the performance was going to suffer because of it, I don't understand how he keeps getting the lead rolls.

The Piangi double was looking into the audience when his eyes rested on me. He was the guy that winked at me before! I sent him a smile and winked at him. His face went a little pink but he grinned back at me. Oh God, I'm flirting, Erik's going to Punjab someone for this. The rehearsals were going smoothly and ended a few hours later so the cast could go get ready. The muscly Piangi double came over to me. I smiled up at him as he walked down the row to me.

"Hello, my name is Henri Bernarde." He had his hands behind his back.

"Hello Henri, I'm Danielle." He stepped from one foot to the other.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner after the performance tonight." He smiled shyly at me. I could practically hear Erik grinding his teeth. If he had been so on Blaise for just being my friend I couldn't wait to see how he'd react if I had an honest to God date. Henri seemed nice, the kind of person I'd like to go out with. He had a cute white toothed smile, straight brown hair that went just past his shoulders and a stunning body. Talk about a stud.

"I'd love to," I said giving him a girly smile. He looked relieved, like he actually expected me to say no? Come on.

"Then tonight after the show I'll take you to a wonderful restaurant." He smiled and walked away. Cool, free dinner. Oh shit, I had a date. My first date. Ever. And I had nothing to wear. I scrambled out of my seat and rant to the dormitories.

"Christine! Meg! I need your help!" They looked up at me.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Christine asked, instantly worried. I laughed and grabbed their shoulders.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong! I have a date! My first date and I have nothing to wear besides this dumb brown dress! Fashion emergency!" Their mouths hung open.

"What?" Came a chorus of voices from behind me. I guess I'd said it too loud. A bunch of ballerinas crowded around me, begging for details.

"It was Piangi's double, Henri. The really handsome dancer guy who has winked at me before. He looked at me during rehearsals today and I smiled at him, when it was over he asked me to dinner!" We all squealed. "And now I don't have anything to wear!" Shouts went up as the girls, all twenty of them (including Christine and Meg) ran to their dresser drawers and pulled out things for me to try on.

"Here, you are about my size and I think this dress will fit you." Said the girl who Carlotta was picking on today, Anette. I was helped out of my dress and pulled into a simple yellow one.

"No, it's not your color." Came a voice from the back. There was more rushing and they stuffed me into a pink dress. I didn't like hot pink, but I thought this soft pink looked really nice. "Perfect!" Cried the girl Isabelle.

"We have to get you a ribbon for around the waist for that!" Christine called before she ran to where they kept the ribbons.

"Get a green one!" I called to her. I always thought pink and green went well together. The other girls pulled out a bunch of shoes for me to try on, so I could find the right size. Soon I was all decked out and perfect.

"I think we need to do your hair," Meg said. I realized that my hair was still in the pigtails I apparently asked Erik to do. Couldn't go out like that.

"What hairstyle should we do?" The girls got into an argument over styles that I stopped.

"I think we should just do a french braid. Simple and elegant." They all agreed and Christine did my hair, tying it off with one of the black ribbons Erik had put in my hair.

"Where did you find this ribbon?" She asked, clearly recognizing the ones sent to her by her angel.

"I found it on the ground by the front stairs," I lied. This seemed to pacify Christine. Everyone else got ready and ran to the dressing room to put on their costumes. I thanked them all for the help. "Break a leg!" I called after them. Only Christine and Meg stayed in the room.

"Are you still thinking of watching the show in box 5?" Christine asked. I nodded my head and they let out a very unladylike groan.

"Please, please be careful." Meg asked as she held my hand, trying to comfort herself.

"I will, but you two need to get ready." I shooed them out of the dormitories and did my makeup before leaving myself. I walked down to the kitchen for lack of anything better to do besides getting cornered by Erik.

"Oh, Danielle, you look so pretty!" One of the kitchen workers said. He looked me over from head to toe. "What's the occasion?" She asked.

"I have a date after the show!" I said enthusiastically.

"You tell him to treat you right or he'll have a whole mess of trouble on him, you hear?" She said and the other kitchen staff made noises of agreement.

"I will!" I chirped before skipping off. Yes, I was skipping.

"Hey Dee!" Blaise yelled from behind me. I turned to him and gave him a hug. "I heard you have a date with that handsome, handsome man Henri?" He made it sound like a question even though he already knew.

"Yes I do." He grabbed me and swung me around in a circle.

"I'm jealous!" He yell whispered. I grinned at him.

"He doesn't play for your team, remember." He gave a long suffering sigh.

"A guy can dream can't he?" He laughed. I nudged him with my arm. "At least let me fix your hair."

"What do you mean? My hair is already fixed."

"Then let me perfect it," he said and pulled a few strands from the braid and left them hanging around my face. "There, you have a little mystique now." He winked at me before he was pulled away to work. I waved as he left before I climbed the steps to the boxes. I hesitated for a moment before opening the door to box 5. Erik sat in one of the seats with his back to me.

"Hello Danielle, I think we have something we need to discuss" he said without turning around.

"Hello Erik, I believe we do."

**Reeaally long chapter. Hope you like cliffhangers ;) Phantom characters belong to Webber, Leroux and the dancers, Danielle and Blaise belong to me. Lines from ****_Faust_**** Belong to Johanne Wolfgane von Goethe and V for Vendetta belongs to James McTeigue and David Lloyed. Review and enjoy!**


	11. Chapter 11

I took a seat next to Erik as people filed into the audience of the Opera. The cleaning crew had spent the entire day cleaning everything they could find leaving the entire Opera Populaire gleaming like a jewel. I knew Erik was going to chew me out for accepting a real date with a non gay guy. I guess I pretty much condemned Henri to death by Punjab.

"You accepted a courtship with another young man without consulting me." Erik said, getting straight to the point.

"I don't need your okay to go out with a guy that like me Erik. You're not my parent." I was sick of his jealousy but if I talked to him in the wrong way he'd go just a little bit crazy and kill someone and I couldn't cause that.

"You are my student and your parents are not here to tell you that all that boy really wants is your body." Erik's voice came out harsh and mean.

"My parents are dead. They have been for years." I stood and walked around to face him so I could look into his eyes, pouring every last bit of malice that flowed through my veins out through my eyes into his. "Don't think just because I value your opinion I'll do whatever you want me to." He seemed to understand what I was trying to say so I went to the first row of chairs and sat down. "And never mention my parents. Ever."

"I still don't want you seeing that boy," Erik said to my back. I could barely stifle a laugh. Oh, revenge for this offense was going to be sweet. I turned to face Erik with a seductive smile of my lips and looked at him through heavy lidded eyes.

"Erik, Henri's not a boy," Erik's eyes went wide and I grinned at him ground my body against the back of the chair for emphasis, "he's all man." Erik sputtered to find the right words as his face turned pink. I began to laugh. "You fell for it!"

"That was not funny!" He scowled at me. I rolled my eyes.

"You're right, that wasn't funny, it was hilarious." I continued to laugh as his scowl deepened. "I thought I got you to quit acting like you owned me when I became friends with Blase." He pulled the cape off of his broad shoulders; broad sexy shoulders and strong arms mmm... Wait, I have to be pissed at him, not ogle him! That's a shame though, he must be pretty built under those fancy suits he wears. Wrong thought process, what did he just say?

"Are you feeling well?" He asked cautiously. Oh, I'm fine. I was just imagining you with your shirt off. I couldn't say that but it gave me a poorly placed laugh.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just... thinking." Nice awkward pause while thinking of an excuse. Jesus I'm smooth, Erik will totally never expect anything. And this is why I try not to think after awkward situations, I end up ridiculing myself. This has to could as some form of bullying.

"What did I just say." Shit.

"That you're totally alright with my date with Henri." I added with a hopeful smile. I didn't want an overprotective Opera Ghost coming out of the rafters to strangle my date after the show was over.

"Close. I said I didn't want this boy to come in the way of your career."

"What career Erik? All I am is a cleaning girl. I was only able to get this date because I was somehow able to show the people here that I'm just the same as them with dark skin, people out there are cruel and horrible to me because of that and Henri's kind to me and wants to take me out even though I'm not the kind of girl he grew up perceiving as beautiful. I would like to go on a date with someone before my twenties." God it was embarrassing to admit I've never gone on a date before. Then again Neither had Erik and he was about twice my age.

"He unsettles me," Erik said.

"You said the same thing about Blaise and now he's only a friend." I countered.

"But you are still seeing him," Erik said angrily. I turned in my seat so I could clearly be seen from the stage.

"Stop being such a whiny prick, the play's starting." I knew Erik wanted to say something but the music started.

The play was great, I waved to Christine and Meg from the box and they looked relieved that I was still alive. They spent every spare moment looking up at the box to see if I was okay. Sometimes I would talk about the meaning of the play from one point to the next with Erik and ask him to explain something for me. The ballet aspects of it were really good but I'd never thought that _Faust _was a ballet play, it worked out pretty well. The whole 'Cheating the Devil part was really exciting but the end came too fast. I stood and clapped as the dancers came on and waved to Christine and Meg from the box, this time to prove that I had stayed safe the entire time. When Henri came on with the other lead male dancers I smiled at him. He grinned back at me and left the stage to go get dressed for our date.

"I'm going now Erik." Erik looked up at me with disapproval clear in his eyes; why couldn't he just accept that I'm going to date people here, it's not like I'm going to marry any of them. And if I did it's not his business.

"I still think that this is a mistake," Erik said curtly.

"You also think it's a good idea to lie to a girl for ten years about being her Angel of Music, her dead father, and manipulate her into thinking that he's here watching over her. I want you to stay out of my dating life unless I ask you for help and even then you have the choice to help me or not. You get me?" Erik seemed surprised that I knew about his love for Christine. I got the hell out of there before he could press me for details. "I'll come to tell you the details afterwards." I blew him a kiss and left the room. I ran down the steeps and went backstage where the girls were changing into their regular clothes.

"You guys were terrific!" I yelled as I entered the room. The dancers swarmed me and began asking questions like, "Did you see me fumble on the Brisé in the beginning of the second act?" and "How did the closing number look? Piangi moved the wrong way again." We all laughed at Piangi's flubs.

"What about your date?" They all squawked like hens and pushed me out the door telling me I should go meet him by the entrance hall like we had agreed. I waved goodbye to them before hurrying off to meet Henri. The audience left in a giant wave of people, their glittering jewels glinted in the gaslights that kept the whole theater lit in a beautiful yellow glow. I stood next to the staircase, out of the way of the people coming down.

"Excuse me madame may I ask you a question?" I turned to see a middle aged man, I guessed by the suit he wore that he was important.

"Of course. What do you want to know?" Ah fuck.

"Why is your skin so dark? Where are you from?" He said curiously.

"Well where I'm from it's considered beautiful to have dark skin, since I'm half black people always tell me what beautiful skin I have." I smiled at him knowing that he'd think I was an ugly dark skinned cow or something and would instantly hate me because of my race.

"Interesting. I am the editor of a fashion magazine and I pride myself on knowing the latest trends but I haven't the pleasure of learning of this new trend. What is the other half of you, if I may ask?" He seemed willing enough to learn about having a healthy touch of sun in your complexion.

"Not at all. The other half is french. My father lived in France a long time ago and left when he was nineteen. When I was born they were living in a small town near the sea so a lot of people had sun touched skin that they considered a badge of beauty on women; it showed the men that they spent time out in the sun helping their family and could be a supporting pillar in their marriage. Well, that and a touch of the sun made it harder to show when a woman blushed." Could not believe that I made that up. Well, most of it. The part about my father was true but I had to change it so it fit into this time era.

"Fascinating. What would you say to the ladies who believe that white skin is beautiful?"

"It doesn't matter what color your skin is, if you like how you look that all that should matter." I hope I could make racism a little easier or disappear but that was highly unlikely. I heard someone call my name.

"Danielle! Are you ready to go to dinner?" Henri asked and offered me his arm. I smiled up at him before taking his offered arm.

"Yes. Please excuse me sir, I have a dinner date I'm unwilling to miss." I gave a short goodbye to the guy I'd been talking to and walked out of the building with Henri. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there," he said as he grinned down at me. I pouted up at him.

"I don't really like surprises."

"Don't worry, it'll only take a little while by carriage," he said. I stared at him in shock. We were going to get in a carriage? Sure enough he hailed one like a taxi and told the driver where to go after I got in.

"How much longer, I'm going to die from the suspense." I leaned into him a little. He gave me a quick squeeze before replying.

"We're almost there, it'll be about ten more minutes." So we talked about ourselves for the ten minutes we were in the warm coach of the carriage.

"I came to the Opera a few years ago when I decided I wanted to follow my passion of dancing into a career. The Opera had an opening and I took the job, they liked my skills so I was able to stay on so long." Henri was a really good dancer, the moves I'd seen him do I couldn't even attempt in my wildest dreams.

"You're really good, I can't imagine doing that in front of anyone, or at all for that matter." He chuckled.

"You get used to it pretty quickly. I hear you're working with Madame Giry to become a chorus girl." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes I am, but I won't be doing anything like what you can do, just the easier stuff." I knew I'd never be able to do the crazy flips I watched him do earlier that night. The carriage came to a stop.

"We must be here." He opened the door and helped me down. The restaurant was cute and little on the corner of a main road in the heart of Paris. The hustle all around us was so comfortable and it made the city seem alive.

"It's so nice." Was all I could manage. Henri laughed and pulled me inside, revealing a warm, brightly lit foyer.

"I have a reservation," Henri said to the host who showed us to our table for two in the center of the restaurant. Dinner was wonderful and Henri was great companionship, too soon it was time to go back to the Opera Populaire. We stood just inside the the from steps of the foyer where we had to go our separate ways.

"I had a lot of fun tonight Henri," I said looking up into his eyes.

"So did I. Would you like to go out again?" He asked a little shyly. If I were any lighter I'd be blushing.

"I'd really like that. Goodnight." I turned to go but he caught my arm and brought my hand to his lips.

"Til next time," he said, disappearing into the wing leading to the men's dormitories. I held back a giggle before making it down to the passageway that led to Erik's home. I didn't bother to knock as I walked through the passage into the candlelight of his home I was able to spot Erik sitting on the bench in front of his organ.

"I'm home Erik," I said to announce that I was still alive. "The date was nice and Henri was a perfect gentleman. I told you that you had nothing to worry about." I could see Erik's sexy shoulders tense as I spoke about Henri. Did I just think sexy shoulders? Bad Danielle.

"I hope you had fun with that boy, he's just another ballet rat that scrounges around my Opera." Erik didn't even turn around when he spoke to me. God, first with Blaise and then with Henri, what was his problem? A thought took seed in my mind before I could brush it away. Was the mighty Phantom of the Opera _jealous?_

"Erik you shouldn't talk that way about people, they have feelings too." Erik harrumphed like an old man before going back to his opera, I wonder if it was Don Juan? "But you don't have to worry about my relationships with men either I'll always love you most," I said kissing his temple. "I have to get up there again, the girls will want to know the story on my first date." I walked back through the passage to the above half of the Opera without a backward glance.

ERIK

I can't believe I sounded so petty, I could only hope that she believed I was upset that she was wasting her time with this dancer boy. Why did I care if she was going on dates with men? I love Christine. Could it be because I feel some concern for her since I am her teacher? That must be it. I began to work on my newest opera, Don Juan, again.

"But you don't have to worry about my relationships with men either I'll always love you most," she said before kissing my temple. I let my eyes slide shut for a moment to relish the feeling of a kiss given out of love to me. "I have to get up there again, the girls will want to know the story on my first date." Then she was gone. I rubbed the spot where she kissed me. I smiled, it felt nice knowing someone cared for you.

DANIELLE

When I got back to the dormitories all the girls were still awake and they were gossiping about something or another.

"Honey, I'm home!" I stage yelled. They gathered around and pressed me for details about my date. I could hardly believe that I'd gone on my first date and nothing had gone wrong. "It went great. Henri took me to this cute restaurant called Chat Dansant and the food there was delicious, Henri kept up a good conversation and he didn't seem crazy at all. And, oh God, his arms are so muscled and sexy, I got to hold on to them when we were walking I never wanted to let them go." They giggled but some of them, including Meg and Christine, went pink. I guessed that there were a few of them that didn't sleep around with the stagehands or whoever. "It was a great date and I'll definitely be doing it again." They all congratulated me on my more than likely relationship. I gave the girls back their things and thanked them before I climbed into bed and passed out.

The days flew by and soon it was Saturday. The dancers were able to go out and have fun for a while before they had to be back at the Opera for that night's performance of _Faust _so we had to be quick shopping, we only had five hours to go through all the stores and get something to eat. Madame Giry had told me that we wouldn't be having lessons while the play was going on because she'd be too tired by the end of it to teach me anything but I had kept working on my voice with Erik, he seemed to have accepted the fact that I had a life besides cleaning his box.

"Come, this color would look beautiful on you." Christine gushed as she pushed me back into the dressing room with a blue dress that I had agreed was my favorite. I pulled it on through the neck and had Christine do up the buttons in the back. When I was fitted into it I had to admit I looked pretty good. The underskirt didn't make the dress back puff out into some outrageous ghetto booty and it looked tasteful.

"I like it and it will be mine." I went out and showed Meg. They both urged me to give them a turn so I did a model walk down an imaginary runway and spun for them. "How do I look?"

"Very nice but I do hope you'll get that nice green dress you just tried on," Meg said as she gestured to the dress. It was one of the good ones I had tried on so I figured I'd get it, it was just that the underskirt in it made it look like I had an elephant's ass.

"Yo Chrissy, look at the ass on this!" I'd yelled. Christine and Meg had fallen over with laughter and I posed with my butt sticking out.

"I'll get it but I want to try on a few more." I tried on a dozen more dresses before we went to pay. I had gotten four of them, the blue dress with the modest skirt, ¾ sleeves, nice embroidery and drop neckline, the forest green dress with the giant underskirt and high collar and long black cuffed sleeves, a plain light pink one that had sleeves that loosely covered my wrists and a lavender one with ¾ sleeves, a two layered neckline, they went around my neck and the white under-layer folded over like a robe while the over-layer formed the bodice and dark purple stitching embroidering the bodice. I also picked up two corsets ( they didn't bother me as much anymore), two pairs garters, one black the other blue,white stockings, some black heeled boots and a pair of black gloves to keep my hands warm.

I decided to wear my blue dress out and carried everything else in boxes. I'm sure I got a great deal on my clothes because there was more than half a sack of my money left. "Lunch is on me."

"That's so kind you you," Christine said. We went to a little diner and ate a nice lunch before we had to head back. I was carrying all of the boxes that contained my new clothes when I dropped one of the gloves I'd been carrying and it was blown down the street by the wind.

"Crap. You guys go back to the Opera, Madame Giry will kill you both if you're late, I've got this." They waved goodbye and I turned in the opposite direction and ran after my glove. I looked all over for it while carrying the boxes that were getting heavier and heavier when I finally spotted it in someone's hand. "Excuse me, that's my glove. Thank you for picking it up." I smiled at the man while trying to grab my glove.

"It was no trouble. Let me help you with that, it seems like a heavy load." The voice sounded so familiar. I looked up and my heart stopped beating as I saw Raoul smiling down at me. I smiled back at him and let him take half my load.

"Thank you. Really I only need a little rest after running to catch up with this little vixen," I said slipping the glove on with the other. Raoul gave me a cute, shy smile. I had seen that smile before, when I winked at Henri. Did Raoul like me?

"I know a coffee shop on the corner there, would you like to go with me? I can call my carriage and drop you off at your home afterward." I smiled back at him.

"That sounds lovely." We sat in the coffee shop for a good half hour telling each other about ourselves. Got this felt like one of those teenage coffee shop dates. Does this count? I squealed on the inside, Raoul looked like Patrick Wilson, his eyes were a pretty blue and he had a cute smile. He seemed to me strong for a man who didn't have to do any physical labor and making conversation with him was easy and effortless. I could see why Christine loved him. Why did it seem like Raoul had a crush on me. "Raoul I like you, you're a really nice person." He blushed.

"I like you too Danielle. You're really different from anyone I've ever met, you laugh a lot and you're not afraid to say what you really feel about something, not at all like the girls my parents try to set me up with." He covered his mouth like he had said something bad.

"Are your parents trying to make you marry a girl you don't love?" He nodded, looking a little sheepish. "That's terrible. You should be able to marry whoever you want when you're ready, not when they're ready."

"Thank you, not everyone thinks that. I came to Paris to get away from it all, my parents are living in our home in Spain right now but I became tired of their constant pestering so I came to our house in Paris by myself." He looked surprised by all he said. "I'm sorry to burden you with my troubles but you're really easy to talk to." He gave me his cute smile.

"It's no problem. I don't mind being the one you want to talk to." Did this count as dating two guys at once? It couldn't, I've only been on one date with Henri and he didn't ask me to be his girlfriend and this is just a chance meeting with Raoul and sharing stories in a coffee shop. Was it bad that I was flirting with Raoul while I know he's going to marry Christine? Shit this was hard, I'm just gonna go with the flow, things'll turn out alright in the end. Hopefully. "I'm sorry but I have to go now, I have an appointment I need to keep." Raoul seemed sad but he helped me into his carriage and dropped me off near the Opera house.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride all the way there?" He called. I hadn't told him the address of where we were going, only that he needed to let me out before we got there.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be fine." I waved at him.

"Will I see you soon?" He asked.

"I'll be around." I called back. He'll see me again as he becomes the patron of the Opera house. When I got back the dancers were in preparation mode and didn't even see me slip into the dormitories and unload my things. The weeks went by and soon they finished _Faust._ After the last performance I went out again with Henri and the next day they announced their three day break before they began their new opera _Hannibal._

**Hi guys! I hope you liked this chapter, sorry it's late but I have a lot of schoolwork to do and I'm trying my best to keep a steady update going. Seems like Danielle met our dear Vicompte, what'll happen? All characters belong to their respective people. Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Alright now lift your leg as high as it can go." Madame Giry instructed. I did and my leg lifted as high as my chest, I was elated. Since I could stretch pretty well now I could move on to the more advanced moves that I saw some of the other ballerinas do when they showed me what they first learned. I spun around, feeling like the ballerina I was becoming. Madame Giry stopped trying to stop me from going off on my own with the moves she had taught me, I practiced with her every spare moment, the only lesson I had consistently were my vocal lessons with Erik. "You are doing very well my dear. I'm sure Erik will be pleased to see how far you've come in such a short amount of time."

"Do you think so? He doesn't seem like the kind of person who says what he feels, I've hardly ever seen a change in emotion cross his face." Erik, I guess, had grown accustomed to his inner monologue.

"I can tell you he is not. He is still teaching you to sing, am I correct?" Madame Giry asked. I nodded my head and kept moving, it always hurts less when I move. Ballet was great. "I'd like to hear you sing, maybe we could get you a small singing roll in _Hannibal_."

"What should I sing?" I was kind of embarrassed but I owed Madame Giry at least that much.

"Whatever song Erik taught you first, I know he's been teaching you a lot." I stopped dancing for a minute as I envisioned what moves I would dance as I sang _Psyche._

"_Hätte ich lebte bis jetzt_  
_Hatte ich bis jetzt gesehen_  
_Psyche._" I lifted my leg high and spun, imagining I was singing of the person I loved.  
"_Wie konnte ich so lange ohne dich gegangen_  
_Psyche._  
_Ihre Augen leuchten meine Welt_  
_Wie die Sterne von den Göttern geschmiedet_  
_Ihre Augen wie der blaue dass nur Hermes sieht so tief in den Himmeln._  
_Meine Psyche._  
_Ich kann dich nicht lieben aus der Ferne_  
_Ich brauche dich bei mir_  
_Neben mir._  
_Sagen Sie bleiben_  
_Psyche._  
_Lassen Sie mich halten dich in meine Arme_  
_Lassen Sie mich Ihnen zeigen, den Himmel, wie Sie noch nie gesehen haben_  
_Nicht scheuen mir jetzt meine Psyche._  
_Die Mutter ist so grausam_  
_So, meine Liebe meine_  
_Sie sollten stattdessen bestraft werden!_  
_Meine reizende Psyche_  
_Sagen Sie mir, zu lieben_  
_Psyche Ich werde Sie!_" I cupped my hands to my heart, knelt on the ground and extended my arms as if I was offering my heart to someone. I opened my eyes as I heard more than one person clap for me. I looked around as saw Monsieur Lefèvre near the entrance.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I was just coming to see if Madame Giry had the written copy of the dance routines, I do like to see what they're supposed to look like before the rehearsals start." He walked up the aisle to us on the stage. "Where _did _you learn to sing like that? I'd thought an angel had come to earth."

"Oh, I've always sung, I used to take lessons." Why was he asking?

"Your voice is wonderful. I want you to be in our next performance, I'm sure Monsieur Reyer wouldn't mind coming in for an hour on his day off to hear you sing." Everything seemed to be going in fast forward while I was stuck in pause. Monsieur Lefèvre wanted me to have a singing part in _Hannibal_? "I'll send for him immediately." Monsieur Lefèvre turned to walk away.

"Wait! Are you sure? I'm only a cleaning girl here, shouldn't you give the big parts to the professionals?" My head was spinning.

"Professionals must be taught and start from something as all things do, you are starting as a cleaning girl but you have the makings of a star in you." He turned and walked away, still talking. "I should expect many people will want to see someone as exotic as you on our stage, yes."

"Did I just get asked to sing in a predominant theater production?" I could hardly believe what just happened. What did just happen?

"Yes, Monsieur Lefèvre must have been very impressed with you to offer you a role. Carlotta with without a doubt get the leading role of Elissa and their is only one other solo singing role, it is the role of the angel that is sent to aid Hannibal in his quest to defeat the Romans. Her name is Evangeline." This was the role I was most likely to play. I saw spots at the sides of my vision and my knees felt like two pools of jelly. I sat in the middle of the stage and stared at the door, trying to process this whole thing. This is what I've always wanted, to be onstage and forever remembered as the character I was portraying but I was seventeen and hardly had any experience, I've never sung soprano in front of people before. What if I choked? How would anyone be able to hear me in this huge auditorium?

"Danielle, stand! Monsieur Lefèvre and Monsieur Reyer have come in, you must look and sound your best," Madame Giry helped me up as the two men walked up to us.

"Hello madame, I have been made aware that you have an exceptional voice, so much so that Monsieur Lefèvre has decided he wants you in the show as one of the lead characters no doubt. I was just making up the list of actors to roles but I would not be unhappy if I find you are a better choice for a role than one of the others. Would you mind singing a song for me? I would also like you to recite a monologue to make sure you can act as well as sing. Please proceed madame." Oh God what do I sing? I looked at me and motioned for me to begin so I began to sing _Psyche _again. I put everything I had into that one song. "My dear, that was splendid, completely sublime. Who taught you to sing like that?"

"I picked it up here and there," I said. Reyer looked so impressed as he handed me a monologue which I assumed was from a part of the play that we don't see in the movie. I read through it once before I read it aloud. "Hannibal you must rise! If you do not then all we know and love shall fall to Rome. We need you, Hannibal, to save these people. Your people. I will help you best I can but I cannot use my powers. Whenever you are in distress follow my light and I will guide you."

"Splendid! You are marvelous, I cannot wait to hear you sing Evangeline's arias; yes, she has her own solos, at least three of them for each of the three acts. I say, this was worth coming in on my day off to get the perfect actor for the role of Evangeline. Good day all, I must go draw up the cast list." And he was gone. I was frozen in my spot. I wanted to scream and jump but I was afraid that I'd just wake up and this would all be a dream.

"Is this really happening?" Are my dreams really coming true?

"Yes Danielle. I suspect someone will like to know the good news. Meg and Christine are still out running errands for me so you should be able to go unnoticed for another half hour," Madame Giry said.

"But what about our lesson?" I asked.

"You'll have time for that later and I need to finish writing the steps for the final scene of _Hannibal_, not to mention I have to leave to get out Angel something he wants and it will take me a day to get there and back, I should be home tomorrow_._" She shooed me away and I ran down to meet Erik, He had said the night before he couldn't watch me practice today because he was working on a masterpiece. I ran down the tunnel, still amazed at how I had gone from a no muscle skinny girl to a firm muscled skinny dancer girl. I felt like I could run marathons without collapsing. I guess I should exercise a lot more. I was only just out of breath when I reached Erik's home.

"Erik! You'll never guess what happened!" I yelled excitedly. He turned to look at me and I could tell he was kind of mad that I'd disturbed his composing.

"Did you finally not hurt yourself while trying to do the splits?" He asked sarcastically, not picking up that something big had happened.

"No. But! I was offered the role of Evangeline in _Hannibal_!" I screamed then and threw my arms around his shoulders. I was almost crying in joy. "Monsieur Lefèvre came in while I was practicing with Madame Giry, she had asked me to sing so I did and he came in and told me my voice was great and he wanted me in the show!" Erik was shocked but triumph shone in his eyes.

"I'm proud of you, you are finally going to be able to show these people what you've got. I'm sure, once they hear you, they will demand your constant presence on stage. This is wonderful!" Erik said as he lifted me up and spun me around.

"If you do this where I'm from that means you want to marry me." I smiled down at him. He almost dropped me. "Just kidding." I laughed.

"The one time I openly praise you and you make a joke at me. You're not very encouraging of good behavior," he said as he gently put me down.

"God, Erik, can'tcha take a joke? I'm just so excited! I can't wait to tell Christine and Meg!" I remembered then that Erik wanted Carlotta out of the show so Christine could get her lucky break. Shit.

"I'm sure they'll be very happy for you." Erik assured me. I could see that he was planning something in his eyes.

"What's with the creepy eyes?" My elation bubbled down and suddenly I was worried.

"It's time Carlotta left, wouldn't you agree? I'm only devising a plan to give her a little push in the right direction." Erik looked devious, he could only look more like a villain if he had a, evil mustache or something.

"Erik do not even consider hurting her. She may be the biggest bitch I've ever had the displeasure of meeting and she probably deserves whatever you have to dish out but she might go running off to the police, telling them how things are unsafe here and get into a legal battle with the Opera and almost everyone will take her side and shut this place down! Do you want that?" Erik looked horrified that his home could be closed down and he would be out on his own.

"Then what do you suggest I do to get rid of her?" He asked, not thinking I'd come up with a response. Boy was he wrong, I'd thought about this all the time after watching the movie.

"Give her a bunch of little annoyances like locking her out of her dressing room, hiding her props, dismantling her costumes or pull a high school move and spread rumors about her." He looked at me questioning whether to listen to me or not. "Then she'll throw a fit and leave. Tada! No more Carlotta," I said.

"Alright, I'll try it your way, but if it doesn't work I get to do this my way," he said, almost darkly.

"Fair enough, just don't kill her." I shrugged, it isn't my fault Carlotta is finally going to get what's coming to her.

"You should get back now. Christine and Meg will be back soon and you have to tell them the good news," Erik said.

"Alright, I'll see you later." I walked back up to the Opera, happy knowing Erik wouldn't kill someone.

Christine and Meg looked like they were going to explode. It was pretty funny. "How did you get one of the roles in _Hannibal_? You're not even a dancer!" Meg exclaimed.

"Are you trying to sound disbelieving in the sense that you're happy for me or you don't think I should have this part? Really, I can't tell the difference," I said dryly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, it's just that you only work cleaning the Phantom's box, how could you get such a big part?"

"Well your mom asked me to sing for her during our practice session so I did. Monsieur Lefèvre came in while I was singing and he liked it so he gave me the role of Evangeline." I was starting to get annoyed. How dare they just assume that I have no talent? "I'm going to go for a walk in town."

"Would you like us to come with you?" Christine asked. I shook my head.

"No, you just came from there, I don't want you to have to go walking around again." I smiled and grabbed my bag.

"I'm happy for you Danielle, I wish I was good enough to get the role of Elissa. I've always wanted to play her, but I'm just not talented enough." Christine shook her head sadly. This only made me angrier.

"Christine you're a great singer and you should know that by now, stop being such a weak willed inamorata and try for once. I don't see you actually believing in yourself or going up to Monsieur Reyer and asking to audition for the part. God, you might surprise yourself. It makes me sick seeing women actually acting like they're nothing better than the ground men walk on, buck the fuck up and take a lesson from me: try to do things for yourself, life is one big staircase of pure shit and if you can't at least believe in yourself you won't go far." I twisted and left. I felt bad for snapping at them like that but they needed to be told off. Especially Christine. She was so weak willed! How could Erik want a doormat for a wife? How could he love her? No, Christine was my friend, I shouldn't be thinking this, no matter how true.

I went to the coffee shop I went to with Raoul and ordered a cup of chamomile tea. I poured honey in it and looked out the window. What was I going to do? I needed to apologize to them, they didn't deserve to be yelled at, it was only this time that was bringing them down. I closed my eyes and rested my head on my hand.

"Danielle!" I looked around and was Raoul by the door coming towards me. I felt a smile tug at my lips.

"Raoul." He came over and sat down at my table. "You don't know how happy I am to see you." I smiled across from him. He smiled back.

"I thought I'd never see you again." He admitted. I laughed a little.

"That's a bit melodramatic, don't ya think? I was just really busy, my job really needed me this past month." I sighed.

"Well, you wouldn't even let me drop you off at home forgive me if I'm a bit dramatic," he said. "What do you do that keeps you so busy? I came by here every day to see if you were here, I must've spent a fortune in this coffee shop." We laughed at that.

"I don't do anything much, just a little job in a nice place." I didn't want to tell him about the Opera Populaire just yet but... maybe I had to? Crap.

"Will I ever get a straight answer from you?" He chuckled.

"Maybe," I said teasingly. "So how are things with your parents? Have you reached any common ground?" I placed my hand over his, he turned his hand and held mine, squeezing it affectionately.

"Not really. They still want to set me up with someone they see fit for me." He rubbed his thumb over my knuckle. "I wish they would stop. They don't know what I want for the future, for my life," he shook his head, "they don't even ask." He looked so dejected.

"Hey, look at me." I put the hand he wasn't holding under his chin and lifted his eyes to meet mine. "It'll work out. I don't know much about God things but they say he works in mysterious ways. If he can cause mass chaos and get away with it I'm sure you can figure something out relating to your parents." He laughed at me. It was nice to see him smile again, he was really cute. If he was supposed to love Christine why did he like me so much? It would change the ending but Erik needed to be loved.

"It's almost strange how something so against the word of God can make me so happy. Maybe it's the person who's saying it." I grinned and looked down.

"Aw, you're embarrassing me sweetie," I said. "You know what might cheer you up? There's a production of _Hannibal _in a few months, it's supposed to be good. Why don't you bring your parents to the show and try to talk sense into them?" Push factor, maybe he'll go talk to the manager about being the patron.

"Maybe. I haven't seen a show at the Opera Populaire since before I came back from Spain. I don't think my parents would go through all the trouble to come here just to talk with me and watch a play."

"I love the Opera Populaire, I saw _Faust_ and it was incredible." Still pushing but I think I've meddled enough. I looked at my watch and sighed. "I think I should head back home, they'll need me to help them with dinner." Not a total lie, they didn't _need _me but they liked working with me. Raoul's face fell as we walked out the door.

"Will I see you again? I don't want to wait another month," he said half jokingly. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Such drama. How about dinner next Friday?" He pouted.

"So long?" He asked.

"Yes, yes. Mean Danielle making you wait." I nudged his arm. "Till then, adieu, and keep this holy kiss." I stood on my toes and brought his face down, kissing him on the cheek. He turned pink. "Bye."

I walked into the Opera smiling, I felt much better than when I had left. I walked back to the dormitories and found Meg and Christine there. I walked over to them.

"Hey."

"Hello Danielle," they said.

"I'm sorry for yelling, I don't regret what I said but I'm sorry I said it so harshly." No point in beating around the bush. _Past the point of no return..._why was I thinking of that now?

"It's okay, I guess. You're from another time where women are so... empowered, I can tell by being around you but that's not how we were raised. I don't think we could change now, it's how we are," Christine said.

"I know, but it just pisses me off that men have all the power here and we're practically dog meat," I said.

"But we know it's going to change and that makes it all worth it if we know that people will look back on this and think it was silly." Meg piped up from her place by the bed.

"Yeah, I guess. Amigos?" I said, holding my arms out.

"Amigos? What does that mean?" This time I decided not to screw with them.

"It means friends in Spanish. Where I'm from almost everyone knows Spanish because it's taught in all the schools." Their eyes went wide.

"You went to school? Madame Giry taught us everything we needed to know." Christine and Meg seemed jealous, I guess the grass was really greener on the other side.

"I was in and out of school, but I always got good grades. A means you're the best, B means you're second best, C is average, D means you really need to work more and F means you're failing the class and need to bring your grade up now. I usually got B's and C's and maybe and A or two." They wanted to know more but I really didn't want to talk about school anymore. "Let's do something fun," I said.

"Like what? Meg asked.

"Why don't we go steal some cookies from the kitchen and sleep on the stage tonight? I could tell ghost stories." They looked scared. Hee hee.

"But ghost stories are so... scary." Christine whispered.

"That's the point Chrissy." I bumped her hip with mine and pulled them out of the room. "Let's go get those cookies."

"How?" They asked.

"Feminine wiles." I told them to stand by the door and act girly, giggling and blushing when the male cooks looked up. "The young ones should be on duty now, the old ones and the women always leave for these days to be with their families, leaving the cooking to these strapping young men."

"I don't think I can do this," Christine said.

"Just do this." I demonstrated looking shy and cute. "Just distract them long enough for me to get the sweets."

"My mother won't let us sleep on the stage though." Meg protested. I rolled my eyes.

"She's going to be out tonight. She has to go out to get something from farther away and it'll take her a day to get back. So as long as we get up before the crew coming in to create the scenes it should be fine." They looked a little nervous but they agreed. I told them to wait by the door and act cute, "and if anyone asks why you're there just say you're meeting me to go out and we were going to use the back entrance." They looked excited but went in and began giggling. I ran around to the other door to the kitchen and looked in. The cooks were distracted by Christine and Meg acting all cutesy and asking which cooking tools did what. As soon as they were all focused on the girls I slipped off my shoes and silently snuck into the kitchen. I grabbed some fresh cookies and put them into my apron pocket. I was about to leave when a bottle of wine under the sink caught my eye. It wasn't opened and I guessed it was there for the staff. Wine was easily replaced, I thought, so I grabbed it and left the room.

"Meg, Christine, I'm here! Let's go into town now," I said as I pulled them to the door, the bottle of wine was in a pocket inside my dress, I used it for smuggling food into the dormitories for midnight snacks. "Simon, Andrew, Jordan there is no hitting on my friends while I live in this theater, you got that?" They nodded and we left through the back door going around and back in through the front door.

"Did you get them?" Meg asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said as I pulled one of the cookies out of my apron. They squealed and ate the ones that I gave them. "I also managed to procure a bottle of wine, let's save that for tonight." They gaped at me.

"We've hardly ever had any wine, only at parties in small glasses. Mother would have a fit." Meg whispered.

"It's time for you to have your first bottle of wine then," I said. After everyone left we set up some blankets on the floor of the stage and crawled in. "Here's to the wine." We all drank and soon the bottle was empty. We giggled on the floor and got up and danced around drunkenly.

"This is so great!" Meg said to the audience that wasn't there. "Why haven't we done this before?"

"Because you're going to wake up with the worst headache of your life tomorrow?" I laughed at them from my place on the floor. I'd gotten better at holding my alcohol because of going drinking with Blaise. Hmm, I should hang out with him again, I hardly ever get to see him.

"Oh, I don't want to come down ever!" Christine sang.

"I'm not letting you drink ever again!" I called to them. I looked around; the place looked creepier when it was only lit by a few candles. I could almost feel Erik's eyes boring into me. "Someone's going to be pissed I corrupted you, Chrissy."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm feeling lighter than I have in weeks. I could just fly!" She flung her arms back and fell into the cushions we were using for beds.

"Maybe we should go back to the dormitories, it's creepy out here and I don't want to risk getting caught by the crew coming tomorrow anymore. It seems like a bad idea now that we're doing it," I said as I gathered up my blankets.

"So you're not always right," Christine smiled. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not always right, no one is. Hey, why don't you sing for us before we go in Chrissy?" She blushed. I could feel Erik's questioning gaze on me. I have to admit, it was nice being the object of his attention, even for a little while.

"Oh, I couldn't." Christine began to pick up her blankets and bundle them together.

"Go on Christine, I know you can do it," Meg urged her on. We both pressed her until she gave in.

"Why don't you sing _Think of Me_ from _Hannibal_, I know it's your favorite." She took a few breaths and stood in the center of the stage.

"_Think of me, think of me fondly _  
_When we've said goodbye _  
_Remember me once in a while _  
_Please promise me, you'll try_  
_When you find that once again you long _  
_To take your heart back and be free _  
_If you'll ever find a moment _  
_Spare a thought for me_  
_We never said our love was evergreen _  
_Or as unchanging as the sea _  
_But if you can still remember _  
_Stop and think of me_  
_Think of all the things _  
_We've shared and seen _  
_Don't think about the way _  
_Things might have been_  
_Think of me, think of me waking _  
_Silent and resigned _  
_Imagine me trying too hard _  
_To put you from my mind_  
_Recall those days, look back on all those times _  
_Think of those things we'll never do _  
_There will never be a day _  
_When I won't think of you_  
_Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade _  
_They have their seasons, so do we _  
_But please promise me that sometimes _  
_You will think of me_!" I could tell why Erik was so proud of her; her voice was amazing. There is no doubt that the only thing keeping her from being Elissa was her own self confidence.

"That was great Chrissy!" I said.

"Let's just go to bed, I'm really tired now." Christine was embarrassed, it was almost cute. We gathered our stuff and went to bed, I tried to prepare myself for their hangover of a lifetime.

**I hope you liked this chapter, sorry it took so long to put up, I've got a lot of work to do for school but I'll try to update a lot more during winter break. ****All characters belong to their respective people. Review!**  



	13. Chapter 13

I groggily opened my eyes to a small moan coming from across the room. I turned my head to see Christine, head in hands, sitting on the side of her bed. I looked at Meg who still seemed to be asleep.

"Danielle, I don't feel very good," Christine moaned.

"Just go back to bed. Here, take one of these and try to go to sleep." I handed her an aspirin from my bag. "Drink some water and, when Meg wakes up, give her the other one. I'm going for a bath." I walked down the hall with my toiletries bag under my arm, my mind was far away from the hall though. I was thinking of my family and friends. Are they missing me? How are they going to explain someone disappearing into thin air? I love the people I've met here but I wanted my family. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed me from behind and pulled me into the shadows.

"What were you thinking, giving Christine alcohol?!" Erik angrily whispered in my ear. "What were you to gain from that?"

"A gaggle of shits and giggles?" There goes my mouth again, speaking before thinking again. Erik put his hand around my throat and pulled me to him, nearly choking me so I couldn't scream. He pulled me down to his home before he let go of my throat and threw me to the ground before his orgon. I sucked in air like it was my last breath on earth, my shaking hand pressed against my chest. For the first time I was afraid of Erik, for the first time I saw him as what he was: a half crazed man with an unhealthy obsession with Christine and, after what he considered to be endangering her, there was a possibility that he would take my life. He was not an overly romanticized outcast only wanting love, he could kill whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted and could get away with it, I wonder if he can hear how fast my heart is beating? I refused to meet his eyes as I gasped on the floor.

"Look at me when I speak to you, wretch!" He grabbed my chin and roughly pulled it up.I held back the tears as best I could and masked my eyes with hate and fury, after my years of acting it wasn't hard to mask how I really felt. "What were you thinking? Christine could've gotten hurt while trying to find a bathroom in the dark or fallen off the stage. Do you think it was funny to put her well being at risk for your little shenanigans?! Did you?!" He pulled me to my feet and shook me as he spoke, I stayed silent as he yelled at me and didn't answer him. "Answer me!" He backhanded me hard across the face, I didn't move an inch as my head was forced to the side and my vision went blurry.

ERIK

With a stunning crack my hand collided with her cheek making her neck bend in a sickening position that almost convinced me I had broken it. Slowly Danielle rotates her head to look at me, my brief relief that she was alive was short lived as I saw the fear and hate in her eyes that I had prayed I'd never see. I flashed back to my dream where I had killed her, what would I become if I had taken her life? Even in my eyes I was a monster before this but Danielle had never called me one, she had been nothing but kind and caring since I met her. She sung her hardest and best for me when I taught her and she treated everyone like they were all the same in her eyes. Even me. Even when she knew the murders I have committed, even when she knew everything about me.

"Danielle I... I didn't..." The fear in her eyes burned out, being replaced with a deep, cold hate.

"You what, Erik? Are you sorry? You think that'll make things alright? You think I'll forgive you as easily as I did when I found you rooting through my things like the dog you are? No, wait, it's too nice to call you a dog. Dogs are sweet, loyal animals that love you unconditionally. You're not fit to lick the paws of such an animal." She pushed me back farther and farther until my feet hit the stair leading to my bed. "Fuck you, Erik Destler! You think since you're the great and terrible Opera Ghost you can get everything you want, right?! Well, I have a fun fact for you: at the end of one of your stories you're captured by an angry mob that drags you to the Seine River where you drown in a slow, agonizing death." My body went numb, I didn't know what to believe; was she lying to hurt me to telling the truth? Her small hands found my throat and she pushed me backwards. I tried to regain my footing but she had hooked her foot under mind and I collapsed with her on top of me. Her nails dug into my neck and she strangled me.

"S-stop," I gasped. She was strong for one so small.

"How do you like it?!" She screamed. "How does it feel you bastard?!" Her eyes were glazed over, she wasn't seeing me anymore but someone else she wanted to punish. She lifted my head and smacked it against the stone stair, only hard enough to cause my eyes to blur for a moment. "You should've died, you should have died a long time ago! How dare you live?!" The glee in her half crazed eyes chilled me to my bones. "Die, die, die." She muttered with a horrible satisfaction. Tears spilled out of her hollow eyes and she snatched her hands away from me. She backed away from me, half seeing me and half seeing the person she so wanted dead.

"Stay away from me." I started towards her. "Stay away!" She bared her teeth and tore away, running to the world above like a cornered animal. I followed her in fear that she would hurt someone or herself. She ran fast and quietly back to where I had caught her before she stopped. She looked around to see if there was any witnesses before she grabbed her toiletries and ran to the bathroom. I couldn't do anything for her now.

DANIELLE

I slipped into the bathwater, trying to fight off the chill from my recent encounter with Erik. After he slapped me I couldn't really remember much; the next thing I remembered was strangling him. Why didn't he fight back? I'm sure he could've snapped my neck if he wanted to. I gently touched the sore spot on my cheek, I'm sure that it's going to turn into a bruise. How the fuck am I going to explain that when rehearsals start? Did I bring my concealer? I hardly ever needed it except to cover up pimples from time to time. I felt like a wife trying to hide the bruises my husband inflicted. My vision blurred as I began to silently cry, Erik had hurt me; after what happened by mentioning a memory in a dream I didn't think he'd hit me. His emotions were so unstable and I could see how dangerous he really was. God, my hands were still shaking. I scrubbed my body and got out; after toweling off I wondered if Erik was waiting to ambush me. Thinking about it made my teeth chatter. I slowly opened the door and sprinted back to the dormitories as fast as I could, thankfully I didn't meet anyone along the way.

"You were gone for so long, did you enjoy your bath?" Christine was still asleep but Meg had only been resting her eyes. As soon as she turned to look at me she knew something was wrong. "What happened?" She got up and guided me to my bed as I began to shake. "Who did this to you?" She indicated to the, thankfully, light bruises around my neck and the harsh one on my cheek.

"It was... I don't... I'm sorry. I just need to get dressed." I finished lamely. "I can't talk about it now." I can't convey the sense of betrayal. Meg helped me dress and I laced my shoes. "I need to get some air," Meg opened her mouth to protest but I cut her off. "I really need to be alone for a bit. I'll tell you what happened when I get back." I ran out the door, making sure I looked at every possible hiding spot to make sure they were empty before I went past them and out the doors into the streets of Paris. I gathered what wits I still had and patted my face to make sure the makeup was still in place before I walked to the little coffee shop I usually met Raoul at.

The sounds of the people around me brought me partly back to life, my heart was still cold and for a minute I wondered what these people were thinking. Who were they, what were their worries and problems? I sipped my hot tea and watched people come and go, still wondering what their life was like. I had gotten lucky when I was allowed to stay at the Opera but some people had to do hard work to barely keep themselves afloat. It broke my heart knowing that some people even had to go as far as to sell their bodies but thanked God that I didn't have to. Despite all the warmth created by the drinks and the bodies in the room I was cold. Cold and alone. I needed to talk to someone. Who? Madame Giry? She has to understand, but I didn't want to go back to the Opera now and I didn't want to face Erik or risk him listening in on our conversation.

"Danielle? I thought our date was for next Friday." Came a voice from in front of me. I looked up and Raoul was smiling at me. "Forgive me, I saw you were alone so I decided to see if you would like my company." I raised my eyebrow at him and his cheeks flamed. "I-I'm sorry, if you would rather be alone I understand." He started to get up but I put my hand over his.

"No, I'm glad that you're here, I was getting kind of lonely." I smiled at him. "It's always great to see you Raoul." He flushed again with joy and sat down. He turned his hand over and ran his thumb over my knuckles. Maybe it was supposed to be like this. Maybe I was supposed to marry Raoul so Erik could have Christine. He obviously loved her enough to beat anyone who 'compromised' her.

"What's wrong? You look so sad." Raoul pressed his hand to my injured cheek. I cringed away and cradled the throbbing bruise. "What's wrong with your face?" Raoul got up and walked around the table, kneeling before me. I turned away as he tried to use a wet handkerchief to wipe away the concealer I used to hide the bruise.

"Please don't." Raoul wiped off the make up and looked at the mark on my face. I covered it with my hand and let a few tears slip out.

"Who did this to you?" Raoul put his hand on my shoulders and rubbed them up and down my arms. I looked around. Almost all of the people were watching us.

"They're all staring at me." I whimpered. God, I sounded like a sniveling little girl.

"Come on." Raoul pulled me out to his carriage and sat me down in the soft seats while he took the reins and urged the horses forward.

"Raoul, where are we going?" I called to him, still hiding the mark on my cheek with my hand.

"To my estate. We can talk there without anyone staring or talking about us."

"I can't stay long," I said after remembering I'd promised to tell Meg what was wrong.

"You'll stay as long as it takes for you to tell me what happened." He called back to me. After a while we were at a large estate which I guessed was Raoul's home. "Maurice! I am home, please get the horses in their stalls and have the carriage brought to the garage." Raoul helped me dismount and walked up the steps of the 'house' giving orders.

This place was huge, I could hardly see the end of the long driveway we had come down. The building was a pristine white with dazzling clear bay windows, it was like a castle without the towers and battlements.

"Welcome home Vicomte, may I take your coat?" A maid asked.

"Yes, thank you Ariel." Raoul handed his hat and coat to her and she turned to me.

"May I take your cloak Miss?" She asked. I shook my head.

I have a bit of a chill, please do not bother yourself." She nodded and went to put Raoul's things in a closet I guess.

"Come sit in the parlour, we can talk there." Raoul lead me to a large room that was the parlour. The maid came in again and asked if we wanted anything to drink.

"Danielle, would you like a glass of wine?" Raoul asked as he sipped his glass. I thought of the whole 'Love Never Dies' thing.

"No thanks. Do you drink often?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Not really, only at parties and such," Raoul said.

"I'll have water, please." I told the maid. She came back quickly with a glass and Raoul dismissed her.

"Danielle will you tell me what happened? Who hit you?" I covered my cheek and looked down. "You can trust me, I swear. You listened to me and gave me advice for my petty troubles, let me help you with your big ones," Raoul said sweetly. I felt my tears come fast then.

"O-one of my bosses was mad at me, I think I pissed him off pretty bad. H-he gr-grabbed me by the neck and..." My voice dissolved into hiccups. Raoul wrapped his arms around me and let me cry on his shoulder. "He hit me."

I don't know how long it had been since I'd let myself cry. I stopped crying from the constant pain I was in after a month, I stopped crying from loss after a year, why did I cry so much while I was here? I'd left myself cry in Erik's arms and now I was letting myself fall apart in Raoul's. I hated feeling weak, I'd learned to protect myself against the whispers in the halls at school, the stares I get on the bus going home, the pity I receive from the whole town I live in. I thought nothing could break me; I'd already been broken before so how can you break something again? I'd never hated Christine for what she did to Erik but I'd always wished she'd loved him instead but now I can understand why Christine loves Raoul so much, he was the sweetest guy and he let me cry on his shoulder and ruin his shirt until all my tears were gone.

"You should stay here, I don't want you to go back to the man who hurt you even if he is your boss," Raoul said. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pressed my face to his, completely ignoring the sting of contact with the bruise.

"I wish I could but I need to go back, my friends must be worried for me. I told her I'd come back soon and it's been," I checked my watch, "four hours. She'll probably have had a fit by now."

"I don't want you to be hurt again. Please, reconsider." He urged me. I stroked his cheek with the back of my hand and smiled at him.

"I have to go back, please understand this. If anything else happens I promise I'll find you right away. Alright?"

"Alright. I hope you know I won't get a good night's sleep until I know you're alright," he said, giving me a cute, lopsided smile.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." I kissed his forehead and he called for the carriage to be readied and he took me back to where he had first dropped me off. "I'll see you next Friday," I said.

Meg and Christine were half mad by the time I reentered the room. "Where were you? We were so worried! Meg told me someone had beaten you, oh God!" Christine looked at my face and winced. "Are you alright? Who would do such a thing to a young woman?" Her eyes went wide and her face grew pale as a corpse. "It was him wasn't it? It was the Phantom."

"Oh, Danielle was it him? Did he hurt you?" Meg whispered, fully aware that he could be listening.

"Yes. He beat me." They gasped in horror. "He strangled me a bit," I showed them the small light bruises, "and he pimp slapped me across my face."

"P-pimp slapped?" Meg stammered. I could've laughed for my language slip.

"Back handed across the face." I simulated what Erik had done to me.

"Danielle, what could you have done to make him so mad?" Christine asked.

"He seemed to think since it was my idea to sleep on the stage I should be taught a lesson. Don't worry," I said in a hurry after I saw their faces, "I'm sure he's only after me. It was my idea, not yours."

"But we did it with you." They protested.

"But I orchestrated it." They still looked afraid. "It's my fault, you don't have to worry." I guess that worked because they seemed to relax. "On a lighter note I've met someone. He's handsome and rich."

"Who? I thought you were already dating Henri." Meg and Christine leaned in, neither could resist some good, old fashioned girl gossip.

"Not telling who but he's so sweet, I'm sure you'd like him. And Henri never asked me to be his girlfriend." I shrugged with a coy smile.

"So you're dating two guys at once?" Christine asked.

"I'm just playing the field," I said. They giggled and we settled in to talk about the people we thought were cute from around the opera.

"The florist that provides flowers for the opera is so handsome, it doesn't matter that he's not rich, he's so kind and he makes such beautiful arrangements." Meg sighed and stared dreamily into space.

"Oh, do you like him?" I teased.

"Maybe." Meg blushed.

"Oh, stop embarrassing her, it's not funny to make her blush so much so that she looks like a beet." Christine piped up.

"Nice one Chrissy." We laughed and Meg turned redder.

"Danielle! I'm so happy for you!" Blaise yelled as he sprinted into the room. I gave him a round of applause.

"Wonderful entrance and impeccable timing my glorious rainbow friend." He bowed and hug tackled me.

"I heard through the grapevine that you're going to be a main character in _Hannibal_, that true?" Though most of it sounded like a statement I answered him.

"Damn right. I'm Evangeline." He gasped and bear hugged me.

"So exited with you," he said.

"With? You need to check your english boy." I raised my eyebrow?

"Yeah, you're excited and I'm excited, so we're excited together!" He stated, I began to laugh. I was feeling better and better. Thank God for gay friends.

"Are you 'playing the field' with him too?" Christine asked from behind. Blaise and I both looked over at her.

"Honey, did she just say that she thinks that we're?" He pointed his finger at him then me.

"Afraid so Cutie," I said, keeping up our game of pet names. I turned to Christine and Meg. "Blaise and me are buddies, I love him as much as I love you two." I hugged them. "Maybe just a little more." They smacked me.

"You love us better than anyone, remember?" Meg said.

"Of course, of course." I sighed.

"May I ask why there is a stagehand in the girl's dormitories with my daughter and two other dancers?" Came a cold voice from the door. We froze and turned to face Madame Giry.

"W-well, you see..." Blaise was cut off by a sharp thwack of the cane against the ground.

"I must ask you to leave before I consider telling Monsieur Lefèvre of your escapades." Blaise jumped up and went out the door, waving a quick goodbye. "Meg, Christine I need you to go buy thirty pink ribbons for me." They made a noise of protest but Madame Giry brushed it off. "Here is the money now go." They didn't dare disobey and left. I got up to join them but Madame Giry stopped me. "I must have a word with you Danielle." I sat back down and prepared for the worst.

"Alright, what do you want to talk about." Please don't be about Erik, please don't be about Erik.

"It's about Erik." Crap.

"What about him?" I asked coldly, making sure that, if he was listening, I still hated him.

"You had an encounter with him?" She asked gently.

"Yes, he dragged me down to his realm by my neck, yelled at me and then slapped me purple." I indicated to my still bruised cheek. I was glad that Blaise hadn't seen it or decided not to ask about it. Madame Giry gently touched it before dropping her gaze.

"Danielle, Erik has told me what happened and I must say I do not approve. That is not how young ladies act here, I don't know about your world but here" I cut her off.

"You're taking his side? So I got them drunk, so what? Nothing bad happened except Christine had a mild hangover. Here, as you put it, they're allowed to legally drink so it isn't a crime. No one was around to witness our drunken singing and dancing or my disgraceful attempt at scary stories. If I really was in the wrong this is all I deserved, a stern talking to, not being manhandled like that! He overreacted and now look at me!" I yelled.

"Danielle, he is sorry he hurt you," she said quietly.

"And that's supposed to make things better? No. Way. I'm not just going to forgive him, he's not worthy of my forgiveness." I turned to walk out of the room. "I'm not sure there's anything he can do to make me forgive him." I walked out of the room then, feeling two sets of eyes on me as I let the door slam shut.

**Bum bum bum! What'll happen to Erik and Danielle's friendship? What'll happen now? And will Raoul be there to comfort Danielle when she needs it? Alright, who's happy Blaise is going to be a main character again? ME! Review if you liked it and everyone belongs to their rightful owners.**

**P.s. Sorry it took me so long to post this. I owe you two or more chapters.**


	14. Chapter 14

ERIK

I felt horrible. I can't believe that I almost seriously injured her because of the few worries, that didn't come true, for Christine. I really was a monster. Danielle would never forgive me and, if Christine found out, she would never love me. I cursed my temper, it always flared and now I was going to lose everything for it. Madame Giry might even rescind her title of godfather to Meg that I had received seventeen years ago. Worst of all I didn't even think of Meg getting hurt, my entire focus was on Christine. I wasn't fit for such a role as godfather, I didn't deserve it.

I needed to talk to Madame Giry as soon as she got back from her errand. I left a sealed envelope on her desk to ask her for an audience as soon as possible. Naught an hour later Antoinette was walking down the tunnel to my home.

"What is it Erik? It is highly unusual for you to request my presence in such urgency," She said. I noticed she hadn't even taken off her traveling shawl before meeting me.

"It's about Danielle." I began. Antoinette's eyes narrowed a bit.

"What did you do Erik? I can always tell when you are about to give me news that I'd rather not hear," she said. I mentally cringed.

"You are correct, I do have bad news." I took a deep breath and continued. "Last night Danielle, Meg and Christine were planning to sleep on the stage."

"Why would they do that? Their beds are perfectly comfortable."

"They had drunk a bottle of wine they managed to procure from the kitchen," I said. Madame Giry's eyes widened.

"I must speak with them at once, this kind of behavior is unacceptable," she began.

"I already took care of it," I said, indicating I had come to the centre of my story.

"What happened?"

"It ended, and began, badly. I..." I couldn't finish my sentence.

"What did you do Erik?" Antoinette asked. "What did you do?" She said with more force.

"I dragged Danielle here. It was her idea and... I grabbed her by the neck as she was walking to the bathroom. I pulled her by the neck. I was so angry with her for giving Christine wine that I let my anger blind me. I yelled at her and when she wouldn't speak back... I hit her." I hung my head.

"You what?" Madame Giry asked in a voice that conveyed pure horror.

"I hit her! I struck her hard across her cheek, her small, perfect cheek. She hardly moved, her neck was twisted in a horrible way, I thought I'd broken her neck. But she turned to me and began to fight back. She yelled and screamed and lashed out. She had enough strength to strangle me."

"Good God." Antoinette whispered.

"God won't help now, Antoinette. Her eyes had glazed over and I knew she wasn't seeing me anymore, I knew that this person had caused a great deal of suffering because she was trying to kill him violently. I can feel the places where her nails dug into my neck." I rubbed the crescent moon cuts. "She seemed to realize what was going on and pulled away from me. She ran all the way back upstairs before I could do anything for her." Madame Giry looked both horrified and mad.

"Erik what were you thinking? She obviously has problems that she needs to deal with from what you tell me and you strike her? I'm disappointed in you. Not only have you displayed horrible judgement and cruelty you have perhaps permanently damaged a young girl whose entire life is ahead of her. You know what it was like to have your very soul crushed, why do it to another?" Madame Giry yelled at me.

"I do regret what happened, I wasn't thinking straight." I began but Madame Giry cut me off.

"Of course you weren't thinking! You let your emotions take control of you and you never think about the consequences of your actions until it is too late!" She ranted, pacing back and forth between where I sat on my bench and the back of the lake.

"I want to apologize but I don't think Danielle will give me the chance to talk to her ever again." I stood and walked with her.

"I wouldn't blame her if she didn't Erik. What will you do now?" She put a hand to her head.

"Would you speak with her for me?" I asked.

"You want me to play peacemaker?" She looked incredulous.

"Please. She trusts you and will hear you out. Will you do this for me?" She looked unsure but answered with what I wanted to hear.

"Fine, but don't blame me if it doesn't work." And with that she left the room. I followed her through the opera and watched as she sent away Meg and Christine so she could talk to Danielle alone.

"Alright, what do you want to talk about." She said it as a statement, as if she knew what it was about all along.

"It's about Erik." Danielle stiffened. I must really be a monster in her eyes.

"What about him?" By her cold voice I knew that this was a lost effort. Madame Giry hardly got any farther before Danielle left the room. "I'm not sure there's anything he can do to make me forgive him." My heart sank as she slammed the door. Antoinette looked up at the rafters with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry Erik, I tried." Then she too was gone. Later that day the dancers came back and got settled in to the opera once more. Danielle seemed to be functioning like normal though she chose to sit with the stagehands that night. My blood boiled as I saw her talking happily with the two she had called Henri and Blaise. Blaise was, as she said, just a friend but the sweet touches and laughs shared by her and Henri were clearly flirtatious. Other stagehands tried to make advances on her but she ignored them all.

"We should go out for drinks this Friday," Danielle said cheerfully. Henri smiled at her.

"I'd love that," he said. Blaise faked a shocked look and threw his arms around her.

"No, I want all your attention." He whined. Danielle rolled her eyes.

"Blaise I love you like a brother so get off before I have to slap you like an evil twin." The entire table laughed and Blaise pressed a hand to his heart in mock heartbreak.

"Abusive mother." He muttered under his breath. She snorted and dinner continued. Soon they parted and she left for bed, drawing this day to a close.

DANIELLE

_Hannibal _was finally underway. The cast and crew came back from wherever they went during their brief breaks and tomorrow we were going to have a read through of the play. Carlotta began to laugh when she heard my name called for one of the lead roles.

"Who is she, eh? Some little no one who had to sleep wit the manager to get the part?" Some people laughed but I walked over to Carlotta with a completely blank expression.

"Actually, I got the part because I'm a good singer," unlike you, I mentally added.

"It's true you know," Reyer said from behind his piano, "her voice is wonderful, truly angelic and that's why I gave her such a big role."

"Then why don't you sing something for us, hmm?" Was she trying to sound intimidating? Bitch. Sorry Carlotta but that won't work on me.

"Oh, I'd love to," I said. I quickly thought of a song to sing, took a deep breath and began.  
"_Tanto tempo fa,_  
_Un uccello fatale di nome,_  
_Chromaggia,_  
_Incrociò in volo la freccia di un,_  
_Arciere,_  
_Lungo le coste di lava,_  
_Per anni, pensando di essere,_  
_Inseguita,_  
_Scappò dalla freccia,_  
_Chromaggia, Chromaggia,_  
_Perché non affronti il pericolo?_  
_La freccia era legata all'ala,_  
_E lei volva per liberarsene,_  
_Tirando la freccia,_  
_Altri son ferriti per mia colpa,_  
_Mia colpa,_  
_Giú! Verso la bocca del diavolo!_  
_La sua freccia, I miei occhi._  
_Chromaggia, come take these eyes... !_  
_I would rather be blind!"_

The entire cast was silent as I sang the beautiful dark song that had come from Repo! but they didn't know about it so I guessed they thought it came out of my mind. Slowly people began to clap for me until it sounded like the whole theater was full. I smiled and bowed my head. Carlotta seemed a bit pissed off.

"Mostra le vacche*," she muttered. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"Non è interessante quello che si sente quando si sa un'altra lingua**?" I said. For a moment Carlotta looked like a deer in the headlights. "Yeah, I speak Italian too." Carlotta harrumphed and turned away.

"Alright people let's get started." Reyer clapped his hands and everyone began to work. As I sung I snuck glances up at box 5 to see if Erik was there. Though the thought of him made my blood boil I still needed to get my things out of his home and I didn't want to face him. After a few hours that went by like the snap of a finger it was lunch time. "Alright everyone eat and rest your voices, remember to drink plenty of fluids."

"Thank you for your hard work," I called to Reyer as I walked to the dining room for the stagehands.

"Dee!" Blaise yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

"Bee!" I mimicked his gesture. "Henri!" I bent and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and kissed my hand.

"What, I don't get a kiss? What am I? Liver?" Henri and I laughed. I put my arm around Blaise in a one armed hug.

"How's my favorite stagehand and my Favorite favorite dancer?" I asked as I shoveled food into my mouth.

"Well, we are having some problems with the scene hangings and such but we're getting through it. How's singing your little heart out?" Blaise nudged me with his shoulder.

"Oh, you know weird. Carlotta's being a bitch to me because I got the second most important female role while she only got the first. The trials of being a diva." I fake sighed and tossed my head back. Apparently the stagehands had been eavesdropping because they all burst out laughing. "Oh? Did I say something funny?" I put my pointer finger to the corner of my mouth, tilted my and puckered my lips in a look of obliviousness. That only made them laugh harder.

"You're an enigma," Henri said as he kissed my cheek. I smiled at all of them before going back to rehearsal.

Friday came fast, after all the extra dance lessons I had it was a relief. I was meeting Blaise and Henri by the front doors so I decided to sit on the steps inside the opera. I knew I was a few minutes early so I decided to close my eyes for a bit.

"_Danielle, Danielle_," Erik called to me like he had done to Christine in the movie. "_Danielle_." His voice was right next to my ear but when I turned I didn't see anyone. Not even a flash of white. My heart gave an uncomfortable squeeze that reminded me I needed to take my medicine. After I swallowed one with a little help from my flask I kept my eyes open, not wanting to be caught by Erik again. "_Danielle._" Came his voice again. I had to suppress the shiver of pleasure that ran through my body as he called me.

"Leave me Erik. I have no desire to speak or look at you." I growled out. My heart set a racing rhythm as he whispered my name one more time before disappearing into the darkness of the opera.

"Dee, you ready to go out?" Blaise called to me as he and Henri walked over. I stood shakily on my legs and tried to act casual.

"Duh, I need this. Between the rehearsals and my dance lessons I'm beat! Not to mention I still have to clean box 5 on the weekends." God was I not looking forward to that. We went to a bar down the street that Blaise and I had gone to before he told me he was gay.

"I love this place, sad I hardly ever come here," Henri said as we sat down at a table and orders around of beers to start with.

"Do you not drink a lot?" I asked around a mouthful of the bitter tasting brew.

"Not really, I don't like the taste." Taking a swig of his own beer he grimaced and set in down again.

"Aww baby, if you don't want to drink it you don't have to," Blaise crooned from his side of the table. I was pretty sure he still had a crush on Henri even though were were unofficially dating. Wait, did that mean I was unofficially cheating on him with Raoul? Screw it, neither of them asked me to 'go steady' with them so I'm not cheating. Henri didn't seem to notice Blaise's obviously flirtatious concern and took another swig of beer.

"No, I think I need this too. I've been wound up so tight this week from all the new routines that I really need to calm my nerves." I looked over at Blaise and wagged my eyebrows. Blaise turned beet red and looked down at his beer. I stifled a laugh and drank. Tonight was a time to be merry.

As we came into the opera after drinking and walking around a bit we were quietly laughing and parted ways. I walked back to the girls and almost fell asleep in my clothes, somehow I managed to wiggle myself out of my dress and corset into my nightgown before passing out.

"Danielle, wake up!" I rolled over and opened my eye. Christine was shaking me. "You screamed in your sleep, are you okay?" I looked around for Meg but couldn't find her. "Meg's gone to get you some water."

"Thanks." I sat up in bed and leaned back. I remembered what happened between Erik and I in his home; I had strangled him and smacked his head against stone steps, I told him the ending of the original Phantom of the Opera. Did that make us even? Hell to the motherfucking no. How could I forgive someone who hit me? I banished the thought from my mind. Meg came into the room and handed me water.

"Are you feeling better?" She said.

"Oh the feels, I cannot handle the feels!" I joked. They looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Just a joke, really I'm fine. I can't even remember what my dream was about." Liar, liar, plants for hire. I miss Spongebob.

"Really?" I nodded. "Alright. Why don't we go out, the fresh air will make you feel better." Christine helped me into my green dress and laced up the back. Meg braided my hair and we left. I steered clear of the coffee shop so we wouldn't bump into Raoul and suddenly have an awkward moment or something.

"Let's go in this shop!" Meg called. It was the clothing store we had shopped at before. Christine and Meg looked through the underthings and I bought a bag. We left with a few more clothes and a few less francs.

"I have to get back, I need to clean the Phantom's box." They looked stricken.

"You're not going in there after what he did are you?" Meg said in a shocked voice.

"I have to, it's my job," I said quietly. "If I don't do it I'll be kicked out." They tried to talk me out of it but it was in vain.

"At least let us help you, that way the work can go faster," Christine finally said Meg nodded her head. I looked at them and stopped walking.

"You'd risk yourself to help me?" They both nodded.

"Of course silly, that's what friends are for." I hugged them tight, I was really scared of going in by myself.

"Thank you." We cleaned the box fast working together and got out of there fast, running like frightened rabbits. We could feel Erik's eyes on us the entire time.

Friday came and so did my date with Raoul. I told Blaise and Henri I was meeting a friend for dinner and I couldn't go out with them. They seemed disappointed but didn't say anything. Meg and Christine were another matter entirely.

"Who is it?" They asked me every day since I told them on Wednesday. "At least let us help choose your dress." They whined after I refused to tell them. so I let them choose between the few dresses I owned before the settled on the blue one. They pulled the top of my hair back and left the rest down. "You look wonderful." Meg sighed. Bet she was dreaming of having a date with the florist. I bid them goodbye and walked out the door. I knew Erik was following me around the opera, I could feel his eyes on me all the time. It had gone on for a week and I was too afraid to say anything.

"Danielle, I'm glad you made it." Raoul smiled up at me from our table as I sat down.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything Raoul." I smiled back at him before looking at the menu. After rehearsals I was so hungry but I hadn't eaten because of our date. "I'm starving."

"Me too." We ordered and sat together, talking about everything and nothing. "Are you alright? Did your boss hit you again?" He put his hand to my cheek. The bruise had faded and it hardly hurt anymore.

"No, I haven't talked to him since. I think he's ashamed of himself but I won't forgive him," I said. I took a bite of bread. "I don't really want to talk about that anymore, let's talk about something else, please?" He agreed and we began talking about books and libraries until our food came.

After a month we had the show down and dress rehearsals began. Madame Giry told everyone we were going to also perform _Il Muto_ after _Hannibal_. Everyone was preparing for two shows now and I was cast as Madame Pompidour in _Il Muto_, one of the countesses ladies in waiting. It was hard juggling all of this but we got a hold of it after a few months and finally we were doing our dress rehearsal for the final scene in _Hannibal_, yes the one with the elephant. I felt a little hollow, I missed Erik and I hadn't talked to him in three had called me almost every day but I still refused to talk to him. I wanted to sing with him again but I just couldn't be with him anymore. When did my life get so confusing?

I felt a bit dizzy this morning, I had forgotten to take my medicine and I'd had an attack; it was too close a call but we were doing our first full run through and the first performance was tonight and I didn't want to be taken out of the show. I was getting pretty nervous but I was confident in my acting. I remembered my lines and blocking, even covering up a few of Piangi's mistakes when in our scenes together. It wasn't that he was bad, it was more that English confused him sometimes. It was pretty funny when he didn't know how to pronounce a word he'd either mangle it or say it in Italian; he got yelled at either way.

"_With feasting and dancing and song,_  
_tonight in celebration_  
_we greet the victorious throng,_  
_returned to bring salvation!"_I led the army of Hannibal forward holding up the lantern I held the entire show high above my head to guide the soldiers to save Elissa, the queen of Carthage.

"_The trumpets of Carthage resound!_  
_Hear, Romans, now and tremble!_  
_Hark to our step on the ground!_" The male army sang.

"_Hear the drums - Hannibal comes!_" I disappeared behind the soldiers for a moment, made a face at Meg and Christine and we danced with the female 'slave girls' presenting Hannibal. Piangi stepped out and looked confused for a moment before beginning.

"_Sad to return to find the land we love_  
_threatened once more by Roma's far-reaching_  
_grasp._" Reyer tapped his baton and interrupted Piangi, telling him he said 'Rome' wrong. I rolled my eyes at Alphonse as they began to bicker. He rolled his eyes back. I looked up in the rafters and saw Blaise waving at me, I didn't want to get in trouble so I smiled back at him.

"From the top," Reyer said tapping his baton again before Monsieur Lefèvre came in and interrupted it again.

"Rehearsals, as you can see, are underway for a new production on Chalumeau's Hannibal."He gestured to the grand stage and costumes.

"I'm rehearsing Monsieur Lefèvre." Reyer sounded slightly mad but Lefèvre only brushed him off before calling everyone's attention to himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen may I have your attention, please? As you know, for some weeks there have been rumors of my imminent retirement. I can now tell you that these were all true and it is my pleasure to introduce to you the two gentlemen who now own the Opera Populaire, M. Richard Firmin and M. Gilles Andre." Everyone was stunned but clapped for our new managers. Andre waved and smiled and Firmin bowed his head once. "I'm sure you have read of their recent fortune in the Junk business."

"Scrap metal, actually." Andre scowled at Lefèvre.

"I could hear some girls in the back say "They must be rich." I could only imagine how hard they're fluttering their lashes. Gross.

"And we are deeply honored to introduce our new patron," Firmin gestured to a man coming from the back of the theater.

"The Vicomte de Chagny." Everyone clapped again. By now Christine would be telling Meg how she knows Raoul and how she loves him. And he's into me. Again, when did my life get so complicated? No one ever asked me out back home and now I've got two almost boyfriends and a stalking phantom. Yippee-yi-yo-ky-yay-motherfuckers.

"My parents and I are honored to support all the arts, especially the world-renowned Opera Populaire." Raoul smiled cutely at the crowd, easily charming all of them. Carlotta made a beeline for him and practically forced her hand on his lips.

"Vicomte, gentlemen, Signora Carlotta Giudicelli, our leading soprano for five seasons." Lefèvre looked a little disgusted with her actions; reason number two as to why he was leaving. Her peanut gallery began cheering for her. If I could get away with one of my overly-exaggerated eye rolls I would. "Signor Ubaldo Piangi, our Hannibal." More clapping as Piangi bowed. "And our newest star soprano Miss Danielle BellRose." I walked up to Raoul and curtsied. He kissed the back of my hand and gave me a look. I didn't know what it meant but it wasn't a normal look. I got the most applause since almost everyone knew and liked me.

"An honour Madame. I am happy to be the patron of the Opera Populaire," he squeezed my hand and brought it to his lips again. "Will you accompany me to dinner tonight Danielle? It seems we have a new topic of discussion." I smiled at him and nodded my head. "Wonderful. I believe I am keeping you from your rehearsal. I will be here this evening to share your great triumph. My apologies, monsieur." And Raoul was gone just the way he'd come. Well, this could turn into a staircase of shit.

"Thank you, monsieur le Vicomte! Once more if you please, signor," Reyer went back to work. I watched Raoul walk right past Christine without even turning his head. Christine looked sad for a moment as Meg reassured her that he just didn't see her. I turned away before she looked at me. Aaaannd here comes the pro wrestler with a body slam of guilt. Reyer made us redo the entire scene, Piangi got his lines right and the ending ballet was beautiful, if I do say so myself. If only Piangi could get his fat behind off the ground and onto the elephant. The final pose was a bit wonky but I was the tip. I stood in front of the others holding the lantern high. The wings they had me wear weighed a ton but the white dress was beautiful. It was stitched together with gold thread and radiant. It swept the floor but it was easy to dance in. Then Carlotta threw a fit.

"All they want is dancing girls!" It went on and on and Carlotta threatened to leave. What a bitch. Andre and Firmin took Lefèvre's advice and groveled until she agreed to sing Think of Me.

"If my managers command! Monsieur Reyer?" She yelled.

"If my diva commands?" He walked back to his spot and commenced the song while Carlotta butchered it. I looked to the rafters and saw movement. Erik was about to drop a backdrop on Carlotta. For one moment as he untied the rope our eyes met. I covered mine and looked another way. The scene came crashing down and caused chaos.

"_He's there, the Phantom of the Opera!_  
_He's there, the Phantom of the Opera!_" Meg sang, clinging to her mother. Carlotta wailed and moaned and when Andre and Firmin tried to calm her down she actually walked out. It would've been great if she'd done that months ago but now we were left with no star and no understudy.

"A full house, Andre, we shall have to refund a full house!" Firmin shouted.

"Christine Daae could sing it sir," Madame Giry said. Christine looked up and around like a deer in the headlights.

"What, a chorus girl? Don't be silly." Andre turned to try and think of another solution.

"She's been taking lessons from a great teacher." Yes she has, probably the best there is.

"Who?" Andre asked.

"I don't know his name Monsieur." Christine looked a little sheepish.

"Please Monsieur she has been well taught." Madame Giry put her hand on Christine's shoulder and pulled her forward. Firmin and Andre looked at each other, weighing their options before agreeing.

"Alright; come on, don't be shy. Come on." Christine stood center stage looking terrified. I hopped in the audience and called her attention to me.

"Just pretend that it's only me and Meg here, you can do this," I mouthed at her.

"From the beginning of the aria then please Mamzelle," Reyer asked beginning again.

"Andre, this is doing nothing for my nerves," said Firmin.

"Well, she's very pretty." Andre tried to stay positive. Christine looked at me and began to sing.

"_Think of me, think of me fondly,_  
_when we've said goodbye._  
_Remember me once in awhile -_  
_please promise me you'll try._  
_When you find that, once again, you long_  
_to take your heart back and be free -_  
_if you ever find a moment,_  
_spare a thought for me._" Everyone stood in a stunned silence. I began to clap like a madman and everyone followed. Christine's dream is coming true, she's going to play Elissa.

"Christine, I'm so happy for you!" I ran up and hugged her. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thanks. Danielle?" I looked her in the face. "What did the Vicomte say to you?"

"Huh?" I tried feigning innocence.

"When he kissed your hand, I saw his lips moving. What did he say?" Meg was coming over to us.

"He asked me out to dinner. Tonight." Christine's look changed from curious to sad.

"Oh."

"Oh what?" Meg asked.

"Danielle's been asked on a date by the vicomte," she said in a small voice.

"Oh," Meg said.

"What's going on?" I pretended to be oblivious to the fact that Christine loved Raoul.

"Well, the Vicomte is an old friend of Christine's and they used to be childhood sweethearts," Meg said, not looking me in the eyes.

"Oh. I didn't know, I can call it off if you.."

"No, don't cancel because of me," Christine said.

"I mean it could be a platonic date, I go on those with Blaise all the time." God I was babbling. "I guess I should tell you... they guy I met? It was Raoul. I didn't tell him I worked here and his being here was a complete surprise. I didn't think you knew him." I really didn't know how to make this better.

"So you met him before?" She asked.

"Yeah, a few times. We met at that coffee shop we passed yesterday after I dropped my glove. Raoul picked it up and treated me to some tea. I didn't see him for a month after that so..." I trailed off, shrugging my shoulders.

"Miss Daae, can you come with us? We need to make sure Elissa's dresses fit you." The lady pulled Christine away to measure her.

"Miss BellRose, we need to clean your costume for tonight, would you mind?" I followed the woman and called to Meg over my shoulder.

"Sorry Meg, we'll talk later!" I slipped off the dress and changed into my own clothes. God I felt like a piece of shit. I should never have encouraged Raoul's crush, no matter how much I liked him. He was destined to marry Christine who was destined to break Erik's heart. I can't believe I'm feeling sorry for the ass that tried to strangle me! Ugh, I'm not drunk enough to deal with this.

"Miss? Your portraits have arrived." I looked up at the woman who had just entered. I took the stack of five portraits from her hand.

"Thank you." She bowed and left. I looked at the pictures I had take on me in my costume for _Hannibal_. It was flat black and white; the lantern rested on a table that was partly out of view, I had my hands folded on the top and my cheek rested on top of them. I stood with a small smile on my face, looking directly into the camera. I went to my desk and took out a pen. _All my love, Danielle._I put it in a small frame and wrapped it in some writing paper because I didn't have any wrapping paper. Right now Erik'll be watching over Christine so I can sneak down and leave this for him. I walked down the halls of the opera quickly and quietly and disappeared in the small passage down to Erik's house. I looked around for his gondola to make sure he wasn't there and left it on his desk, leaving quickly after that.

I was just about to go on stage for my first song. God I'm scared. I shook myself as my cue came and I walked on stage.

"_Forgive me Father,_  
_I have sinned,_  
_I went against your word._  
_You told me to stay away_  
_And let Hannibal find his own way_  
_But I could not leave him alone in the cold_  
_As he pine for his lover Elissa._

_Forgive what I have done to you_  
_There, by the grace of God go I_  
_Forgive my soft heart_  
_And tender whispers of such a sad_  
_Melody._

_Forever in your grace do I reside_  
_In my love for you._  
_Remember me as I was_  
_Not how I now appear to be._  
_I'd do it again just to help these men_  
_And keep this land free._"

The theater exploded with applause as my song finished and people stood and threw flowers. I picked up one and smelled it. The curtain fell for intermission and I gathered the rest of the flowers and asked one of the maids to put them into a vase for me.

"Good luck Christine." I smiled at her as she went to sing Think of Me. She gave me a small smile back. This was when Raoul falls in love with Christine and he'll forget about me.

"_Think of me, think of me fondly,_  
_when we've said goodbye._  
_Remember me once in awhile -_  
_please promise me you'll try._  
_When you find that, once again, you long_  
_to take your heart back and be free -_  
_if you ever find a moment,_  
_spare a thought for me_

_We never said our love was evergreen,_  
_or as unchanging as the sea -_  
_but if you can still remember_  
_stop and think of me . . ._

_Think of all the things_  
_we've shared and seen -_  
_don't think about the way things_  
_might have been . . ._

_Think of me, think of me waking,_  
_silent and resigned._  
_Imagine me, trying too hard_  
_to put you from my mind._  
_Recall those days_  
_look back on all those times,_  
_think of the things we'll never do -_  
_there will never be a day,_  
_when I won't think of you . . ._

_Flowers fade,_  
_The fruits of summer fade,_  
_They have their seasons, so do we_  
_but please promise me, that sometimes_  
_you will think of me!_" The show ended after that and I hurried to get dressed, I knew where I was going to find Raoul.

"_The Angel of Music sings songs in my head._" I heard their voices harmonizing wonderfully.

"Christine, you did so well tonight," I said when I entered. "Hi Raoul."

"Hello Danielle, are you ready to go to dinner?" He asked. He still seemed to be excited about our date.

"Yeah, why don't you come too Christine? I'm sure you'd like to catch up," I said.

"Yes, do come Little Lotte," Raoul said.

"I can't, the Angel is very strict." She looked down, clearly wanting to go.

"Well we shan't keep you up late. Two minutes, Little Lotte."

"I'll meet you out there after I'm done talking to Christine." Raoul left the room and I turned to Christine.

"You shouldn't have done that, I don't want to intrude on your date." She turned away from me.

"Christine, I hardly think you're going to intrude. I wanted to tell you something." She turned back around quickly, trying to get me out of the room, she could feel his presence and so could I.

"Can you tell me tomorrow? It's getting late and..." I interrupted her singing, not bothering to use my soprano to get the message to her.

"_Christine, I'm dying._"

**CLIFFHANGERS! Well, wait for next time to figure out what happens :3. Hope you like this chapter. Review! Song belongs to the Repo! people and everyone belongs to themselves. Except my OC's. They're mine. * means show off cow and ** means Is not it interesting what you hear when you know another language?**


	15. Chapter 15

Christine's face went white. I tried to give her a comforting smile but it felt too false to give to her. Her mouth moved like a fish's did as it gasped for life on a bank of a river, trying to find words to say in this situation. But what can you say after your friend tells you they're dying? You hope it's a cruel joke and they only said it to scare you. No one tells you how to handle this situation, what are you supposed to say? Are supposed to say sorry? And what are you supposed to do when it's the friend you were ad at for something she didn't control? Namely that of a man's heart.

"Danielle..." she didn't have anything to follow up with.

"I've been dying for a long time." I could feel Erik hold his breath, I knew he was going to ask me about it later. "It's been a miracle that I lived to be seventeen at all."

"Why? What's wrong?" Her eyes darted over me, looking for something wrong, like a deformity.

"I have a bad heart, it's literally broken. It pumps too much blood to my lungs and, if I don't take my medicine, the vessels in my lungs rupture and blood will leak into them, drowning me; it is a slow and painful death. My brother's a doctor and created the medicine that I take, it's fast acting and reduces blood flow." I pulled out my flask and let out a humorless laugh. "Why do you think I carry this around? Alcohol is a natural blood thinner." I leaned close to Christine, determined not to let Erik hear this bit. "If I don't take my medicine every day around the same time I'll have an attack. Sometimes it's just feeling woozy or it could be broken vessels and coughing up blood but if the latter happens my medicine can stop it almost instantly. If I don't have it I'll die in five minutes but those five minutes will feel like five years." I pulled away and took the silver chain from my neck. "I want you to have this." I clicked the heart pendant open and showed her a white pill on a small bed of satin.

"What is it?" She asked as I put it over her head.

"My back up pill. If I ever get caught without anything I have that, or if I have ne medication left that'll give me one last day to say goodbye. I want you to keep it." She twisted in her seat and looked at me with wide eyes.

"I couldn't, what would happen if you needed it?" She tried to take it off but I put my hand over hers.

"Well, I'd ask you. Don't we spend, like, everyday together? When I go out with Blaise and Henri it's at night and I take my medicine in the morning so it wouldn't be a problem." I looked at the mirror and around at the dressing room. "I don't have enough to keep me alive forever." I looked her right in the eyes. "I only have enough to last me one more year. Christine, no child will ever call me mommy, I will likely never marry and all the money I'm making by performing is going towards my funeral if I can't get home, so I'm spending the last months of my life with the people I love."

"Danielle, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Christine looked down, I guess she felt bad for minorly acting a tad rude.

"It doesn't matter Christine. No matter what happens, I want you to remember me this way, not any other way you'll find me. I know what's supposed to happen Christine," I lowered my voice again, "and Raoul does not marry me." Christine flushed. "Yes, it is how it sounds. I'm going to borrow him for tonight, so you can see this teacher of yours." I winked and walked to the door, "I'm pretty sure Raoul would love you to come with us though." I closed the door behind me and almost bumped into Raoul.

"Danielle! Is Christine ready?" He put his hand on my arm and looked over my shoulder at the door.

"Christine said she wasn't feeling well so she decided to turn in early," I lied easily. I didn't like to lie to Raoul but this had to happen. Christine had to go with Erik and unmask him. And I had to break up with Raoul so he'll fall in love with Christine and break Erik's heart. "Let's go! I haven't eaten for hours!" I put my hand through Raoul's arm and walked to the carriage with him.

ERIK

Danielle. It's strange how I have Christine here, singing with me in my gondola, and all I can think of is her. Who could have thought she was so sick? I land the boat and listen to the fading notes of the same song I sang with Danielle. No, this is Christine. The girl I love.

"_I have brought you,_  
_To the seat of sweet music's throne._  
_To this kingdom where all must pay homage to music,_  
_Music._  
_You have come here._  
_For one purpose and one alone._  
_Since the moment I first heard you sing,_  
_I have needed you with me to serve me, to sing,_  
_For my music._  
_My music." _ I stood in front of my organ and sang to her, successfully keeping her in a trance.

"_Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation_  
_Darkness stirs and wakes imagination_  
_Silently the senses abandon their defenses."_ I pulled her from the gondola over towards the diorama of the stage as she sang '_Think of me_'.

"_Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor_  
_Grasp it, sense it tremulous and tender_  
_Turn your face away from the garish light of day_  
_Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light_  
_And listen to the music of the night."_ I turned her head to face me. Her eyes were filled with wonder at the beauty of the caverns of my home.

"_Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams_  
_Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before_  
_Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar_  
_And you'll live as you've never lived before."_ Her eyes closed to absorb the vibrations of my voice. She looked so peaceful, I couldn't wait to show her the wedding dress.

"_Softly, deftly music shall caress you_  
_Hear it, feel it secretly possess you_  
_Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind_  
_In this darkness that you know you cannot fight_  
_The darkness of the music of the night."_ I slowly pulled her towards the alcove where I kept the dress.

"_Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world_  
_Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before_  
_Let your soul take you where you long to be_  
_Only then can you belong to me." _ I ran my fingers down her face and pulled her to me.

"_Floating, falling sweet intoxication_  
_Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation_  
_Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in_  
_To the power of the music that I write_  
_The power of the music of the night_." I held her hand to the mask on my face and led her to the dress, I pulled back the curtain and she looked past. The surprise must have been too great for her. She passed out in my arms and I carried her to rest on my bed.

"_You alone can make my song take flight_  
_Help me make the music of the night_." I lowered the curtain around her so the light wouldn't bother her. I left Christine and sat at my organ, my thoughts again consumed with Danielle. I felt horrible all over again. I can't believe that I'd hit a girl who was _dying_. I ran my fingers over the keys to try and distract myself as a new melody filled my mind. I reached to grab a blank piece of music paper when my hand knocked into something wrapped in plain letter paper. I was sure it hadn't been there before. I opened the gift, thinking that it was something from Antoinette. I flipped over the to the front of a picture frame and came face to face with the girl of my inner musings. Danielle stared up at me, looking like an angel on Earth and nothing like the sick girl she was. I looked at the writing in the bottom corner in neat, loopy cursive; _All my love, Danielle_. I ran my fingers over the picture, maybe it meant she forgave me. I placed the picture on my desk face down so I wouldn't indirectly tell Christine I was teaching Danielle as well. I leaned into the keys and began composing.

I was so caught up in my composing that I didn't know that Christine coming until I felt her rip off my mask and stare in horror at my face. My hand flew to my face and I pushed her down.

"_Damn you!_  
_You little prying Pandora!_  
_You little demon_  
_Is this what you wanted to see?_  
_Curse you!_  
_You little lying Delilah!_  
_You little viper_  
_Now you cannot ever be free!_" I stormed around knocked candlesticks over and pushing papers screaming at Christine.

"_Damn you,_  
_Curse you..._" My anger drained out of me and the red left my vision.

"_Stranger than you dreamt it_  
_Can you even dare to look_  
_or bare to think of me:_  
_this loathsome gargoyle, who burns in hell,_  
_but secretly yearns for heaven,_  
_secretly... secretly..._  
_Christine..._" I crawled over to her, covering my face with my hand. Tears streaked her face as she pushed away from me; disgust and loathing clear on her face.

"_Fear can turn to love - you'll learn to see_  
_to find the man behind the monster:_  
_this repulsive carcass, who seems a beast_  
_but secretly dreams of beauty,_  
_secretly... secretly..._  
_Oh, Christine..._" I sat with my shoulders hunched and tried not to move, I didn't want to scare her anymore than I already had. Slowly Christine picked my mask up off of the floor and handed it to me. I could've killed myself when I saw the terror in her eyes and how her hands shook. "Come, we must return, those fools who run my theatre will be missing you. Christine reluctantly followed me back to the opera above.

DANIELLE

"Raoul, I had a great time tonight." The restaurant we had gone to was warm and the food was good. "What did you think of the show?" Now down to business.

"It was incredible. You looked beautiful." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. Please God, don't let him love me.

"What did you think of Christine?" He seemed a bit confused as to why I was asking about Christine.

"I thought she was wonderful, I never thought I was going to run into her again after she moved away, why do you ask?" How'm I supposed to phrase this?

"I heard you and her were childhood sweethearts, did you fall in love with her again when you recognized her as she sang Think of Me?" I tried to sound like I was teasing him even though I was dreading the answer.

"I... I don't know what to say to that. Yes, I feel something for her but I don't want to stop this. I don't want to lose you." I let my head fall to the side and looked at him, smiling. I wish I could love him and have him love me. I wish a lot of things that couldn't happen. No matter how much I wanted this to happen it can't.

"Raoul, I didn't want to tell you this; I didn't want to hurt you." Raoul looked hurt and shocked, what did he think I was going to tell him?

"What is it?" He held my hand tighter.

"I can't be with you. It's not that I don't want to, it's because," I didn't finish. Tears fell from my eyes and stained the table cloth. "I'm not going to live much longer. A year at best." I couldn't look him in the eyes. Raoul was so sweet and kind, he didn't deserve to have this pushed upon him.

"What's wrong?" It's always that question people ask.

"My heart. I need a new one, this one doesn't work right." I explained everything about it to him.

"How is that medicine made? I haven't heard anything in modern medication like it." Oh, fuck me hard.

"I'm not from this time, whether you believe me or not I'm from the future." Shitstorm begin: now.

"Surely you're joking?" I knew he wouldn't believe me. I looked him in the eyes.

"No, I'm as serious as a brain tumor." Worst. Analogy. Ever.

"Are you... crazy?" I laughed hard and long.

"I might be a little crazy but not in the bad way. Why do you think I'm so different? No one acts like me here." I didn't want to have this conversation, the death one was enough. "I wouldn't lie to you Raoul, I like you too much." I reached across the table and pinched his cheeks. He gave me a sad smile. "Don't you trust me?" I said as I tweaked his nose.

"I was hoping you were mad, it would be easier to believe then all of this. I could still be with you if you were crazy. I do still want to be with you but you seem to want me to stay away." He shook his head.

"It's not that. I want you to be with me until the end, I just want to see you happy, happy in a way I can't make you. I saw the way you looked at Christine in her dressing room. I want to see you happy before I die. Or I might have to come back as a ghost and haunt you until I do." I winked at him, "and who knows what I'll see then." I looked down, clearly staring at his body. Raoul flushed bright red. "There's the familiar rose tint I remember." He blushed deeper. "I'd better get back, we have another show tomorrow."

"Alright, but I'm driving you all the way home today," he said. Smart ass.

"My place? Your place would be better for the things I have in mind." I blew a kiss at him. He turned as red as a tomato and began to stutter. "Just kidding." I got up and began to walk out.

"You're horrible," he said, nudging my hip with his.

"Aren't I just?" We climbed into the warm carriage and started toward the opera.

"Do you think this is the right choice? Couldn't we try to fix your heart?" I laughed.

"Honey, the first open heart surgery won't be performed until 1893 in Chicago. I'm a dead woman walking." Raoul lowered his shoulders and lowered his eyes looking the image of sadness. "Raoul, I've become used to the fact that I'm going to die, don't look so sad."

"How can I not? I have feelings, big ones, for you and I can't be with you because of it." He leaned back against his seat, it always seemed we sat across from each other.

"It's just not how history wrote it darling." I reached across the small gap and took his hand. "You've given me so much joy Raoul, a shoulder to cry on and someone to talk to, it's funny how I repay you." The carriage stopped outside the deserted opera house. "I'll see you around Raoul," I said as I pulled away. He grabbed my hand as I tried to leave the carriage.

"Can I have a kiss goodnight?" He asked hopefully.

"Nope, what do you take me for, easy?" I joked, feeling a little weird at the thought of kissing Christine's future husband.

"Just one?" He smiled. God, he's cute.

"Fine. God, you're needy." Raoul laughed a whole, open mouthed laugh. I pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth, in an indirect kiss. "See you tomorrow night at the show Raoul."

"Goodbye Danielle." Raoul looked like he was about to cry. I brushed my lips over his eyelids.

"Goodbye Raoul." I turned and walked into the opera, not thinking of Christine's escapades in the the Phantom's domain beneath the opera.

Hours later there was an incredible panic. Christine had disappeared and the media had caught wind. Andre and Firmin were in a tizzy when I came out and asked if I had seen her.

"No, I can't imagine where she would've gone." I walked away, trying to get away before the whole Carlotta scene.

"_Where is she?_" Too late.

"_You mean Carlotta?_"

"_I mean Miss Daae _  
_Where is she?_" Raoul ran up the steps, looking distressed and worried.

"_Well how should we know?_" Andre looked tired and angry.

"_I want an answer! _  
_I take it that you sent me this note!_" Raoul looked at them both as they argued that none of them wrote. I walked over to Raoul and read the note he held in his hand. No doubt Erik had written it. I put my hand on his arm and looked him in the eyes, trying to convey this was serious.

"_Where is he?_" Carlotta stormed in, I could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears.

"_Ah, welcome back!_" Andre and Firmin bumbled over to her, trying to get into her good graces.

"_Your precious patron_  
_Where is he?_" Raoul ran to meet Carlotta and her possy and they began to argue about the letter Erik sent her. I tuned them out until Madame Giry came in with Meg.

"_Miss Daae has returned._" Megv stood behind her, half hiding from everyone.

"I hope no worse for wear as far as we're concerned." Asshole Firmin needs a good slap.

"Where precisely is she now?" I have no idea what Andre meant by this; what could he do by knowing where she was?

"_I thought it best she was alone_."

"She needed rest," Meg looked down, embarrassed.

"May I see her?" Raoul asked Madame Giry.

"No, Monsieur She will see no one." Madame Giry seemed determined to make sure Christine wasn't disturbed.

"I'll see you later Raoul, I'm going to check on Christine." I left quickly, going down to see Erik; no matter how scared Christine was Erik will be more heart broken.

There were crashes and bangs coming from Erik's home, just beyond the entrance, Erik roared in anger. "Damn it!" I was going to have to go in there, wasn't I? Well, into the lion's den.

"Erik, throwing a fit is really unbecoming." I walked through the door and looked at all the stuff on the floor. This mess was going to be a bitch to clean up.

"What do you think _you're_ doing here?" Erik growled at me from where he stood by his organ.

"Checking to see that everything isn't ruined beyond repair and you haven't killed yourself." I looked over his desk, not finding anything broken, just scattered on the floor.

"Get out of here!" I put my hands on my hips and stared at him.

"Or what? You're going to kill a girl who's dying?" Erik seemed to visibly calm down. "Why don't we calm down and talk about what happened?" He sat down at his organ and looked at me. I kneeled down in front of him. "What happened?"

"Don't you already know?" He asked darkly.

"Duh, I'm from the future. But you'll feel better if you tell me." I rearranged my skirts. "So spill, what happened?"

"I brought Christine down here in a trance, I thought it would be easier to reveal myself to her. She fainted at the sight of her dress so I let her rest on my bed. While I waited for her to wake I began to compose, I didn't hear her come up behind me and she ripped my mask off. I screamed at her and hit her. I terrified her. She'll never love me now." Erik hung his head in shame.

"You should've expected that. Really, why wouldn't Christine wonder what was behind the mask of a man that has taken her into the bowels of the opera? You need to learn to control your temper. Jesus, you're as bad as prince Adam in Beauty and the Beast." I rolled my eyes.

"Who?" Oh yeah, it hasn't been invented yet.

"Not important. Erik, what you're doing is not the way you get someone to love you."

"How do I get her to love me?" He asked sarcastically.

"How am I supposed to know? I can't have relationships, I'd just end up hurting someone. Do you know what it's like losing someone you love? I couldn't put anyone through that." I stuck my legs out in front of me, sitting crouched hurts.

"I heard what you told Christine." He looked at me straight in the eyes.

"I know. I could feel you staring." I wasn't going to make it easy for him to bring this up. "How creepy is that, watching a private conversation like it was a play?"

"You're working on my nerves." Erik sounded pissed but he was smiling.

"Why was Christine afraid of you?" His eyes went black, I'm bringing out the worst in him.

"Because of my face." He spat his words at me. I got up and sat next to him on the bench.

"Erik, show me what's under your mask." He quickly turned away from me.

"Not on your life."

"What a careless choice of words, I thought you were more eloquent than that Erik," I said. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"How can you say that so calmly?" I laughed.

"Weren't you listening? I've become used to the idea that I'm going to die, you'd have to if you were in my position, I've accepted death for years; he seems like an old friend." When you're friends with death it's a little hard to be afraid of something. "Why don't you want me to see what's underneath your mask?"

"Because it sent Christine running, why would it do any different to you?" He growled.

"Erik, come here." He had walked to the other side of the room. I got his to sit next to me again before I turned to him. "Do you want to do this the easy way of my way?" I put my hands on my hips and stood before him.

"You'll never get me to willingly take my mask off woman." His eyes were sharp as daggers. I smiled down at him, I was going to get my way one way or the other.

"You've chosen my way, so just relax." Obviously his body went on high alert. I put my hands around his head and crushed his face against my chest. It was kind of funny watching him try to pull away. "I'm not letting you go until you relax and listen to me." He gave up and stopped struggling. "Why should I care what half of your face looks like? It's just the outer part of you, it's what's on the inside that matters to me." Erik hardly responded to what I said. Okay, time to try another approach. I grabbed the top of his mask and pulled it off and pulled out of Erik's reach.

"Give it back!" He lunged for me but since he was covering half his face it was easy to get away from him.

"Erik, I already know what's under your mask more or less and I know you're wearing a wig. You might as well trust me." He eyed me suspiciously. "Think of it as making up for bitch slapping me." His breathing came fast. He was obviously suspicious. "Trust me Erik." Slowly Erik let his hand drop. The harsh redness of it surprised me but didn't repulse me. I walked close to him and studied the ridges and harsh lines of his deformed face; it looked like a bad burn from a fire that had left deep, unforgiving scars. I ran my fingers over it's unsmooth surface, it was at once sickening and captivating at how easy it was to see the muscles move just beneath the surface of his skin, Erik was clenching and unclenching his jaw. Though the deformity covered half his face to his chin his lips were still perfect, taunting and perfect. Erik had closed his eyes but I could tell that one of his eyes sagged downward; Erik's face was twisted and terrifying but it held a strange beauty. I slowly pulled off his wig to reveal a half head of shaggy sandy brown blond hair. The deformity reached almost all around his head. His ear was normal but he had no eyebrow.

"Are you going to scream and run as well?" His eyes opened and I saw such a painful sorrow.

"Why would I run from you? I happen to think, in my professional opinion, you're very handsome." I caressed his twisted skin.

"Lying is a horrible habit," Erik said darkly.

"Fine, don't believe me. I'm just saying what I, and about six million other people think, that's all." I lifted my hands in the air, in mock surrender.

"What are you talking about?" He looked bewildered, momentarily forgetting his mask was off and his wig was in my hand.

"I'll tell you later. Or not at all. It depends on the powers that be." God time travel isn't worth the jet lag it brings. "Erik, you've shown me something incredibly personal, it woulds be horrible manners if I didn't reciprocate the gesture. I'm going to go change into my clothes from the future." I walked towards the alcove where I hid my backpack.

"Why?"

"Because what I have to show you I can't in these clothes."

I came back out in a pair of straight-leg blue jeans and a black David Bowie concert t shirt. Erik eyed my outfit, deciding whether to laugh or look appalled. While I was changing He had donned his mask and wig.

"Erik, you know I have heart problems and you should know why." I never wanted to revisit this memory but I wanted Erik to know this story, no matter how much I wish it would go away and never come up again. "When I was four my father tried to kill me." Erik's face contorted to a look of pure horror.

"Danielle..." I shook my head, indicating that I wasn't done.

"He woke me up one night about four thirty in the morning. It was a Saturday and both of my brothers were out. Mike, my oldest brother, was at some high school party. He was seventeen and probably getting drunk off his ass while my other brother Alex was having a sleepover with one of his friends. He was eleven. When my dad woke me up he said there was something he wanted to show me in the woods near our house and, being four, I thought he was going to show me fairies so I followed him into the woods, off the trail until I started complaining about how my feet were hurting. He turned to me and told me to lie down and take off my shirt. I didn't want to get in trouble so I did what he told me. He held my hands above my head and used his knee to pin my legs down, then he took out a scalpel that he had brought home from his job as a surgeon at the hospital in our town and cut me open. I screamed and begged him to let me go but he laughed He laughed!" I screamed. I had begun to shake, the memory brought me right back to that time of being a helpless little girl who couldn't do anything to defend herself. "He cut me clean through and opened me up, cut me open like a corpse for study! He began to pull out my organs and name each one." I could feel my sanity slip away.

"'Here, baby girl, is your big intestine. Isn't it funny how it's smaller than your small intestine? Look how but it is!'" I screamed, miming showing Erik an intestine. "'This is your liver. Can you feel it, baby girl, can you feel it?!'" My breathing became laboured. " He pulled out each of my organs to show me and the put it back, like they were baby pictures in a photo album or something! If the organ couldn't come out he'd just give it a nice squeeze to make sure I knew it was there.'And this,' he said with a lunatic smile on his face, 'is your heart! Can you feel it beating in your chest? Can you feel it?' He squeezed it hard and everything went black. I assed out and he broke it, he _broke_ my heart! I don't know how I didn't die just there but I lived through it all I _lived_ it was worse than dying." I walked around the space, trying to make the memory less real. "When I woke up dawn was breaking. The promise of another day shone on the horizon. How I wished that day would die, and I along with it. Do you know what it's like trying to fit your organs back inside your own body and physically _hold_ yourself together as you try to find your way to the path and get help?" Tears rushed down my cheeks, I couldn't look at Erik. "If there hadn't been a jogger on that trail I would have died. She called the police and an ambulance came. I was still holding myself together or my guts would have spilled out." I choked on my tears and fell to the ground. Erik wrapped his arms around me.

"Danielle, I'm so sorry." I leaned into his warmth.

"It's not finished. After the emergency surgery to save me I found out that my father had gone home and he killed my mommy. He was waiting to ambush my brothers when they got home. My mom was... my mom was..." I let out a small scream. "She was five months pregnant with my baby sister!" Tears stopped my speech again and Erik held me close and hard. "Her name was supposed to be Maria! Her name was supposed to be Maria." I cried and cried for I don't know how long. "She was going to be so beautiful, Erik. A new baby girl wrapped up in pink."

"Danielle, I'm sure she would be. What happened to your father?" I chuckled darkly.

"He was sentenced to death and died by electric chair. I wish I could have watched the fucker fry." What he gow was too good for him, if only they were still allowed to hang people. "Isn't it strange how, in a story, the character that seems happiest is the one who's suffering the most? It's almost poetic."

"I wish there was some way to make it better," Erik mumbled into my hair. I loved being held by him like this, I felt so safe. I reluctantly pulled away.

"I don't think anything will make this better." I lifted my shirt and tugged my pants lower around my hips to reveal the long upside down Y incision.

**Hi everyone, sorry it took so long to get this up, I really had to stop and think about this in places. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review! Everyone belongs to their rightful persons.**


	16. Chapter 16

ERIK

I looked at the harsh, jagged scar on Danielle's stomach. This had been done to her over twelve years ago and it still looked puckered and pink, though the scar wasn't thick; it was as thin as one of her slender fingers. The overwhelming urge to pull her to me and promise to protect her almost overpowered me but the sight before me had frozen my bones. I tried to imagine this woman as a sweet, cherub faced little girl lying on the ground with her stomach cut open and her organs rearranged in the open cavity. The scar reached from the bottom of her breastbone to just above her navel before it split in two directions, ending at the before bumps made by her perfect hips. I wanted to scream, or both her and I who had faced the horrors of this earth. Where I was born with my face deformed she was perfect and this imperfection was forced on her.

"I spent months in the hospital, I still go there for weeks on end. It get's hard to keep up with school work but I don't want to stop going and be the kid who left before the tough got going so my teachers gave me a lot of leeway and extra help, tutors, make up assignments that can make up half my grade. I was lucky. After school work I studied languages, I can speak sign and Italian.  
_And then I learned to sing._" Her voice floated down to me and broke me from my trance. I slowly laid my fingers along the scar on her stomach and traced it. Her muscles tensed at my touch but she did not pull away. I wanted to press a trail of kisses to the wounded flesh but refused to do so, relying on my better sense.

"_Was it terribly hard_?"

"_Oh, no._" Our voices overlapped a bit at the end; the sound rang like the silver bells of heaven, our voices together.

"_Was it very painful_?"

"_Yes, yes._" Her voice rang with sorrow, beautiful sorrow.

"_Could you ever forgive him for what he did?_"

"_Not if he got to his knees and begged me!_" Soft sobs escaped her as she stood in front of me and held her hands over her eyes.

"_Danielle, Danielle._" I pulled her to me and she rested her head delicately against my shoulder. "_Danielle._" I could feel the sorrow hanging around us in a dark cloud. "what could I do to help you?"

"Just hold me like this sometimes, big people make me feel safe." She kicked off her shoes and curled into a ball against my chest, in the odd clothes she wore it was easy. I felt myself flush when I felt she didn't have a corset on.

"What year were you born? What year was it when you left?" I made myself think of other things to try to distract myself from noticing how close we were. Should anyone be this close until marriage?

"I was born in nineteen ninety-five, my father tried to kill me four years later in two thousand and I first saw your story in two thousand four, when I was eight years old and it was twenty twelve when I came here." Some things didn't add up to what she said when she saw me on the 'big screen', whatever that was, with her mother but she said the had passed four years earlier.

"I thought your mother took you to see my story on the 'big screen' as you called it?" I tried not to prod at the wound that was her childhood.

"There was a nurse at the hospital I went to and she looked like my mother. I was still really... messed up from the whole experience that I regressed and thought she was my mother. I don't remember much of it but she taught me Italian, which I mastered after a year or so; time seemed to stand still there. I just remember waking up one morning and seeing her. I thought 'this isn't my mother, my mother is dead.' I'm pretty sure the doctors were worried that I'd do something drastic so they sent her to another hospital. I never saw her again. I was bored throughout the day so my brothers hired a singing teacher for me, it was kind of hard but I am now a master at singing on my back." She seemed proud of this odd talent.

"Why did you not learn an instrument?" Violins could be learned while sitting down, along with the cello, piano or any wind instrument.

"I'm pretty good at playing the flesh flute." I looked at her blankly. She looked like she was going to giggle. "Let that sink in for a minute." She tweaked my cheek.

DANIELLE

I watched Erik's face: confusion, hard thought and more confusion.

"I'd love to stay and play twenty questions with you but I need to go above, I have to get ready for Il Muto," I skipped off to the entrance to the tunnel that would lead me back.

"You never told me what you meant!" He stormed after me.

"What do you mean?" I inquired innocently. I really wanted to hear him say it; maybe then he'd understand the joke.

"What is a flesh flute?" He stopped then, finally having said it out loud he was beginning to understand. I grinned as his face turned a bright pink and his eyes went huge. I walked up to him swaying my hips and pressed myself against him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Erik had his hands suck out, not sure what to do with them.

"Do you want me to show you?" Erik turned impossibly pinker. He began to stutter out some response before I cut him off. "Why don't you show me how to play your," I flicked my eyes down and up his body before continuing, "mighty organ?" Erik went beet red. He tried to speak but his voice failed him. I couldn't hold in my laughter anymore and just about doubled over. "Don't worry Erik, I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"That was not funny!" Erik tried to regain his composure, he looked ridiculous standing awkwardly and trying to straighten himself.

"Don't get your bloomers in a bunch, resist temptation." I held my hands up. "I know it's hard when I look this good but you must."

"Who'd be tempted by you?" He muttered darkly.

"Mankind." I walked over to the alcove to change my clothes into what I had to wear up there. I'd forgotten how easy it was to wear a bra. I slipped on my garters and stockings, dreading the corset all over again; though it didn't hurt like it used to. I walked out and said goodbye to Erik.

"Are you really going now?" He asked, I can't believe that he almost let me out of here in my future clothes.

"Yes, I am. Feel free to moon over your copious amounts of drawings of Christine." He turned away from me. "Erik, quit acting like a child and face me." I put my hand to my hip. He turned toward me, muttering something dark under his breath. I walked over to him and took his mask off, placing a kiss on the twisted skin. "I like you better without the mask." I turned and walked away, leaving Erik behind me.

I looked around the corners before coming out of the tunnel and walking across the stage to get ready for the play. "What'chu doin down there girl?" A gravely voice came from above. I looked up to see Joseph Buquet coming down the ropes for me. Yay.

"What's it to you Buquet?" This man constantly hit on the dancers, some were grimy enough to screw him and it had made him arrogant.

"Don't play games, I saw you coming out of that tunnel. You talking to the Phantom?" I clenched my fists.

"What are you talking about? There's no such thing as the Phantom of the Opera," I said. Was I going to be found out? If they kicked me out I'd have nowhere to go! "Get out of my way, I've got to get ready for the production tonight." I elbowed my way around him.

"No use trying to protect him sweetheart, I know you're lying and I'm going straight to them new managers, dumb as they are I'm sure they wouldn't mind sending a few gendarmes down there to check it out." He leaned in close to me, I refused to back away. "But if you do something for me I might forget to mention how I came by that knowledge." He grabbed at my body but I twisted away.

"Stay away from me you disgusting creep, I wouldn't go to bed with you if my life depended on it." I tossed my hair and turned around to leave.

"Come back here you little-"

"Danielle? Is that you?" Blaise ran across the stage to my rescue. "There you are! Minette needs you in your dressing room pronto! Come on!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the stage and ran us to the dressing rooms and locked my door. "What was going on back there? I thought he was going to attack you!" We panted a bit from running so fast.

"He was trying to get me to go to bed with him." I shuddered.

"Gross." Blaise's face contorted into one of horror and his blue eyes flashed behind his dark hair, he brushed it out of his face, looking annoyed. "Dumb hair." He muttered.

"Here, let me do something." I took my hair tie and pulled back his bangs into a brain spout. "Better?" He looked in the mirror.

"I look ridiculous!" He whined.

"Yeah but no one can tell because you're wearing a hat all the time." I smiled smugly as he put his hat on again.

"No one better notice. Come on, I need to take you to someone," he said, pulling me from the room.

"I thought that was a lie." He was tugging me to the front staircase.

"Sort of. Minette didn't need you but our handsome vicomte was looking for you." Blaise teased me.

"God Blaise, it's not like that. We're only friends, that's it." What would happen if he spread it around that Raoul was trying to hit on me? What a mess that'd be for the story.

"That's no fun." He pouted; at least he wasn't going to tell anyone.

"The truth is often boring." But not in this world. I walked with Blaise to the stairs and saw Raoul waiting for me.

"Bye Danielle, see you later!" Blaise leaned in close. "I want to hear everything when you're done here."

"Alright, alright." He waved and was gone; I turned to Raoul and he smiled at me. "What's up Raoul?"

"I wanted to give you something." He reached into his pocket but I put my hand on his arm.

"Why? You don't need to give me anything." I didn't want him to try to win me over by giving me things; I'm going to die and he needs to be with Christine.

"I really want you to have this, I saw it and thought of you." He pulled out a velvet box and opened it in front of me. Inside was a silver chained pendant made of blue and white china shaped into a heart with silver metal around the edge.

"Raoul, it's gorgeous. Thank you." I let him put it on me and admired it around my neck. "How does it look?"

"Wonderful, I knew it would." He smiled again, thought a bit sadly. "I wanted to give it to you last night but I couldn't." He ran his hand through his hair. "I want us to stay friends, if it's not any trouble." He looked hopeful.

"Raoul, I treasure your friendship. C'mere." We hugged and I kissed him on the cheek. "I hope you like the show tonight." I went to my dressing room to get powdered and prim for the night's shows.

ERIK

I decided to make sure Danielle got upstairs alright, after what had just happened I wasn't sure that she was going to not have a breakdown. I looked in horror as I saw Danielle standing with the vicomte and smiling. I was about ready to kill Buquet after he tried to desecrate her, then the stagehand she was friends with saved her and brought her to him. The necklace he gave her was the mark of a lover, somehow it make me angrier than when Christine had stolen my mask. Maybe it was because Danielle accepted who I am and what I look like, my blood boiled when I saw her kiss his cheek like she had mine. As they parted ways I followed her to her dressing room before branching off to begin preparations for Il Muto. The managers had not heeded my warning and now they were going to suffer.

DANIELLE

I placed my hand over the heart necklace Raoul had given me. No doubt Erik was throwing a hissy fit right now but I had more important things to do than worry about Erik's tantrums now. Tonight was the opening of Il Muto. For some reason the managers decided the letter was full of bull crap and made Carlotta the lead. Seriously, what do they see in her? She's such a bitch and has no respect for others. So what if she's an okay singer? She still needs work on pronouncing her vowels.

"Danielle?" I turned to see Christine dressed as a boy standing in my doorway.

"Christine, why are you dressed like a boy? I thought you were going to be the lead." I tried to act surprised.

"Well, La Carlotta came back and now I have the silent part of the page-boy." She looked down, looking the physical embodiment of hurt and sadness.

"Those bastard ass'! How could they cast you as the page-boy?" I kicked the leg of a chair with one uncomfortable shoe.

"Why do you say that?" I stopped and turned to her, a lie coming easily to my lips.

"I wanted to be the page-boy!" Christine looked bewildered.

"Why would you want such a small part?"

"I thought I'd look cute in the costume. No I'm joking. Okay, not really but there are no small parts only small people." I recited my drama teacher's favorite quote from God knows where.

"It just seems ridiculous that you would want such a miniscule role instead of the relatively large one you have now." Christine shook her head.

"Less stress I guess. Good luck today Christine, I'm sure I'll work out eventually." I tried to sound encouraging but I was in a rush to finish fixing my powdered wig and get out there. Where the hell was my fan? I looked down at the purple dress I wore. Not too bad.

"Thank you, good luck to you as well Danielle." She walked out of the room and I soon followed her, after finding my fan under my notebook, which I usually kept hidden in my purse in a locked drawer but decided to take it out after finishing a song I had been working on in Italian; it wasn't a masterpiece like Erik made but I think _Sweet Soprano_might be in a play I write, if I could write one for this song.

As I walked to the wings of the stage I again heard my name being called. "Danielle, there you are! I've been looking for you forever!" I turned to Blaise. "I thought I told you to find me when you were done talking to Vicomte Hunk?" He put his hands on his hips in mock anger.

"Don't be such a baby, nothing happened. He told me he wanted to be my friend and gave me this necklace." I pointed to the one around my throat. Blaise gasped, pressing his hands to his face and looking, strangely, like a young MaCaulay Culkin in Home Alone.

"He's totally into you!" Blaise swatted my arm. I swatted him right back.

"Watch the music note, had to get those drawn on specially. And he's not into me, we're friends." Blaise rolled his eyes; was it impossible for him to believe me?

"Fine, fine, but I'm going to keep my eye on you and this whole business." Someone called him from the rafters. ten minutes to curtain. "I'll see you after the show."

"See ya," I said. I had a show to do and the hour of Erik's demise grew closer and closer.

**Hey everyone, hope you liked the chapter! Everyone belongs to themselves and all that. This chapter is dedicated to a reader of mine who gave me a the kick in the butt I needed to finish this chapter! Thanks Lea, this one's for you! ;) Review and add!**


	17. Chapter 17

I first walked to the side of both of the other actors that were dressed in ridiculous outfits that almost made me wince; one wore a yellow get up that I guess was the fashion at the time for this play and Henri was stuck in this blue... _thing_ of the same style. I almost laughed when I first saw them all dressed up for rehearsal a few days ago.

"You're almost late," said the one in the yellow, Maurice. In his eyes almost late was worthy of getting kicked out of the show; I guess he worried for me since I was still a little new to this.

"Oh hush Maurice, she's here now and these people are going to love her." Henri advocated for me. I stuck my chin out in a fake smug smile.

"So there," I said like a child, Henri laughed and Maurice harrumphed and looked at me fondly.

"Don't let your wig fall off," he tased me. I rolled my eyes, this was an old joke.

"Oh, I let it fall off _one_ time and you just can't..." I didn't get to finish, the music came on and Maurice urged the curtain up. We walked in line waiving our fans and smiling in sync as Meg came to sand next to us, playing the part of the countess' maid. I leaned over to stage whisper to Henri.

"_They say that this youth has set my Lady's heart aflame!_"

"_His Lordship, sure, would die of shock!_" Henri said.

"_His lordship is a laughing stock!_" Maurice finished.

"_Should he suspect her, God protect her_." I sang and we all moved to upstage left of the pink bed in the background.

"_Shame, shame, shame._" We shook our fingers at the audience and fanned each other as we gossiped.

"_This faithless lady's bound for Hades!_  
_Shame, shame shame!_" We turned to see Carlotta and Christine turn to the audience when the curtain came up as if they were caught kissing. We gave our most exaggerated surprised faces to the crowd before Carlotta began to sing.

"_Serafimo - your disguise is perfect._" Someone in the pit made a knocking noise and Carlotta, as usual, over acted.  
"_Who can this be?_" She and Christine made a big show of holding their hands to their ears to hear better.

"_Gentle wife, admit your loving husband._" Piangi sang as Meg went to open the door, coming back waving her hands in the air; Piangi mimed squeezing her butt and Meg squeaked. Christine hastily began dusting things, her legs in a wide stance, like a man.  
"_My love - I am called to England on affairs of State, _  
_And must leave you with your new maid._" Piangi wiggled Christine's butt as Alphonse went around inappropriately touching everyone he saw. Christine looked disgusted, for the play, Piangi didn't really touch her.  
"_Thought I'd happily take the maid with me._" He said to the audience, earning a hearty laugh. Carlotta, unhappy that the attention wasn't on her hurried on to her next line.

"The old fool is leaving." The crowd was a chorus of 'oohs'. I didn't really like comedies, people in the audience talk too much and it distracts went up to the front of the stage for his mini monologue.

"_I suspect my young bride is untrue to me,_  
_I shall not leave but shall hide over there_  
_To observe her._" He came back to where he was standing before.  
"_Adieu_."

"_Adieu._" They walked towards each other and pressed their palms together "_Adieu_." Just as Piangi bent to kiss her hand she pulled away. We watched from where we sat, whispering and acting 'casual'. Piangi went and hid behind the door where we pretended we couldn't see him and Carlotta pulled Christine to her.

"_Serafimo - away with this pretence! _  
_You cannot speak, but kiss me in my husband's absence!_" Carlotta ripped off the skirt of Christine's dress and we acted shocked again. Christine and Carlotta hid behind her fan to share an exaggerated stage kiss.  
"_Poor fool, he makes me laugh! Hahahaha._" Carlotta laughed.  
"_Time I tried to get a better better half!_" She shoved her hand in Christine's face for her to kiss.

"_Poor fool, he doesn't know!_  
_Oho ho ho ho..._" We laughed with them as Piangi stood behind us with Alphonse, shaking his fists.  
"_If he knew the truth, he'd never, ever go!_" Before anyone could do anything Erik's voice boomed from the rafters.

"Did I not instruct box 5 was to be kept empty?" Everyone stopped laughing and shook, Meg began to scream.

"He's here! The Phantom of the Opera!" Meg hid behind me and everyone was looking to see where the voice had come from.

"It's him; I know it. It's him." Christine looked around scared; I went and put my arm around her.

"Your part is silent, little toad!" Carlotta hissed at her.

"A toad Madame, perhaps it is you who are the toad," Erik said. His voice seemed like it was coming from everywhere at once but I knew where he was. I could just see his cloak behind the chandelier. Carlotta called for her throat spray and told the orchestra to start again, completely ignoring Erik's warning.

"_Serafimo, away with this pretence!_  
_You cannot speak, but kiss me in my_," her voice failed and let out a loud croak. We could hear Erik's ghostly laughter pressing around us. Carlotta looked petrified. and the music just kept playing.  
"_Poor fool, he makes me laugh - Hahahahaha! Ha_" her voice croaked again, she kept trying to sing but only croaks came out of her throat. Erik kept laughing, soon everyone was. Christine tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder but Carlotta shook it off and ran for the wings, calling for her mother. Andre and Firmin came running on the stage calling for the curtain to close,the stagehands were quick to comply but accidentally cut out Maurice leaving him in front of the crowd. I watched him from the slit the curtain had left open to see through, he was pawing at the curtain, trying to get back through before Reyer yelled at him to stand in the shadow of the curtain. Andre and Firmin walked through the slit to address the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize, the performance will continue in ten minutes' time when the role of the Countess will be played by Miss Christine Daae." Everyone clapped, I turned to get in the wings and get ready for the scene that was coming on after ballet that was coming up next. Christine ran past, having to change into the countess dress in ten minutes. I watched from the wings as the curtain went up Maurice spun around and hammed it up for the people watching.

The ballet began and I sat on the ground, fanning myself. The girls were dancing beautifully, as always.

ERIK

I watched that disgusting little man search for me; it was almost amusing how he thought he could catch me. But now he was going to pay for threatening Danielle. He ran through the maze of catwalks following after my shadow before I shook him. I stood behind him, just waiting for him to turn; he looked around and came face to face with me. His face contorted in horror, now that I was right in front of him he didn't seem so eager to fight me the way he always boasted he would. Instead he turned tail and ran, the coward.

I countered him at every turn. What a wonderful game of cat and mouse we were playing. I jumped to the rafter he was on and pulled my weight from side to side making him trip, his face went through a gap in the planks as he gazed at the ballet below, the last sight he would ever see. I slung my lasso around his neck and held tight. He opened his mouth like he was going to scream for help but only a weak gurgle came out. I grinned down at him and whispered in his ear, "This is for the wrongs you've done and the sins you've committed." I let the air escape his lungs before I pushed his body off the rafter and left it to hang there. I surveyed the damage I had done, the dancers were in a tizzy, everyone was screaming. Danielle had her hands covering her face, fingers spread wide to take in the scene with terrified eyes; she knew it was me. Her mouth was open like she was screaming but the crowd's screams drowned hers out. My attention was diverted from her when I saw Christine sneaking off with the Vicomte, tossing everything to the wind I made my way up to the rooftop after them.

DANIELLE

I couldn't believe it. Erik had killed someone. Moreover I can't believe I'd forgotten that this would happen, I could have done something about it! I screamed and cried in a corner until Madame Giry pulled me to my feet and took me to her office.

"Danielle, are you okay?" She shook me a little to make sure that I was still with us. The screams had died in my throat a while ago and now the tears came. I cried for five minutes before I remembered what was happening right now on the roof between Christine and Raoul. This was going to crush Erik's heart. I need to be with him. I hauled myself up, pulled off the ridiculous powdered wig that was somehow still on my head and washed the white off of my face, neck and arms in less than a minute.

"That's better," I said. "I need to go to the roof."

"Are you sure you're alright? A minute ago you were having a break down." Madame Giry put her hand on my still wet arm.

"I just need to get up there now. Something bad is going to happen, just trust me." Madame Giry let me go and I ran to the rooftop.

"Don't worry about the performance, because of the murder it has been canceled for tonight." She called after me. I stopped and hid at the bottom of the spiral staircase as Christine and Raoul came down, wrapped in each other's arms and looking blissfully happy. I felt my heart plummet into my gut, Erik was up there suffering alone. As soon as they were out of sight I ran up the steps and opened the door just enough to get through. I had no idea what I was going to say yet and I had no idea how he would react to me being there.

Erik was slumped over the rose Christine dropped.  
"_I gave you my music,_  
_made your song take wing_  
_and now, how you've_  
_repaid me:_  
_denied me_  
_and betrayed me._  
_He was bound to love you_  
_when he heard you sing_." Erik held the rose to his chest and I felt my heart break for him. "Christine." He whispered. Very faintly I could hear Christine and Raoul sing to each other from the bottom of the stairs.

"_Say you'll share with me,_  
_one love, one lifetime..._  
_Say the word and I will follow you..._  
_Share each day with me_  
_Each night, each morning_..." Erik's back went rigid and he ripped the petals from the bud and threw it to the ground, running to the statue of a cluster of angel's and climbing between the wings.

"_You will curse the day you did not do!_  
_All of the Phantom asked of you_!" I watched Erik slump over and begin to sob. I still don't have the right words but I don't have the time to think of them anymore.

"Erik?" He looked around at me with savage eyes, I almost jumped back in fright. "Erik, come down from there." Wow, I sounded like a mother. Or a cop trying to convince someone not to jump off of a building. Slowly he got down and walked over to me.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be doing your job?" He snapped. He was going to be snippy with me? Fine, I'm going to be snippy with him.

"It was canceled because a certain ghostly murderer decided it was a great idea to punjab our chief of the flies." I crossed my arms in front of me.

"He deserved it. He threatened you." I froze. Buquet was dead because of me? I' d thought that Erik was tired of having to deal with him or something.

"You took his life because he was threatening me? Erik, even if he told anyone he thought I was working with you, who would believe him? And if they did what would they do about it? Everyone's too afraid of you to do anything to me and now you're telling me that it's my fault someone is dead? I don't even know what to say anymore." I put my hand to my head, trying to block the horrible thoughts.

"I didn't mean to..."

"No, you didn't think, did you?" I leaned back against the cold stone railing, suddenly feeling so tired.

"Danielle..." I looked at him in the eyes and saw he was crying.

"Let's go down Erik; I think we've had too much excitement or the night." I pulled him by the wrist and led him down to his home. Erik slumped into a chair and hung his head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what? About the woman I love choosing the patron over her Angel? About the way it feels like my heart has been ripped from my chest?" He stopped and looked at me. I allowed myself a weak smile.

"Erik, I've had my heart broken by men many times and I've almost had my heart ripped from my chest. Remember people are fickle and it's better to be alive than not having your feelings reciprocated." His eyes lit with anger.

"Don't you dare tell me that I should just sit back and accept that my Christine will be in the arms of that useless Vicomte! I will never let him have her!" He threw me an angry look. "I thought you and the Vicomte were becoming a cozy couple already." I raised my eyebrows at him. He was spying on me and accused me of something without the entire story? What kind of crappy book was my life turning into? I guess I just had to take it.

"Erik, me and him are friends, nothing more or less, don't take your anger out on me." For a minute he looked like he was going to kill me before he controlled his emotions. I took a deep breath. "Erik, I'm sorry you're hurt, that's the last thing I want for you. I care about what happens to you and I want you to be able to love someone and be loved by them but I don't know how to make you feel better. If you want to keep trying for Christine I won't say anything against you, just remember I'm here for you." He put his arms around me and held his face against me.

"You're too good to me." He sounded depressed and embarrassed. Good.

"You're right, I should've washed my hands of you as soon as you started talking to me but, like a moron, I didn't and now I'm stuck with you." I joked. I liked Erik even though he could be a jerk sometimes.

"Was this meant to happen? What is going to happen to me?" His voice was slightly muffled from having his head pressed in my chest.

"Erik, you know I can't tell you anything now, but when this is over I'll tell you what went wrong. The only thing I can tell you is that it's different because I'm here." I laughed a bit. "Though I'm not sure what effect it'll have on this." Erik grunted his acknowledgement and turned around and began to compose something that was unmistakably Don Juan. The melody Erik created was dark and angry. "Don't put hate into this work Erik, it'll taint it." He let out one bitter laugh.

"What do you know about my work?" His work meaning his opera.

"Don Juan Triumphant, something consistent in every adaptation of your life. Believe it or not your mask is less consistent than this opera." He looked at me like I'd grown a second head. Maybe I shouldn't have talked about his mask? "Don't worry about the drowning in the river thing, I'm ninety-nine percent sure that won't happen." Who knows if I'm making it better or worse.

"Why?" He asked cautiously.

"Because you didn't kidnap Christine during _Faust_ and that's what happened in the adaptation with the river." He shook his head.

"And how can my mask be less consistent than my opera?" He asked.

"Well there was this crazy movie where they made you some lunatic that lived in the sewers of the Opera who was raised by telepathic rats and you ate people I think. It was fuckin' weird, also the first thing I saw after I read the original book." He had turned to face me, mouth agape.

"Telepathic rats? Movie?" Ah crud, wasn't supposed to mention movies, too hard to explain.

"Yeah, telepathie rats. I don't know the premise of the movie and I'm pretty sure the directors only wanted to get it as fucked up as possible and it was like, half an hour long. Stayed away from it after that. And a movie is moving pictures that they arrange to show one after the other until they create movies that can last to hours." Erik shook his head, I'm not sure if he got it. "If you're ever in 2011, soon to be 2012, I'll take you to see one."

"Sure, I'll just take a vacation to your time next year and you can take me to see one of your futuristic inventions." I was happy that, even if only for a few minutes, I could get his mind off Christine.

"Well, it's late and I'm tired so I'm going above to get to bed you should go to bed too. Night." I walked over to the entrance to the tunnel and left.

ERIK

Danielle left and I remembered why I had been upset to begin with. I was shocked that she had taken my mind of Christine so completely for so long. I felt restless, too energetic to compose, so I decided to draw. I took charcoal to a piece of parchment and began to draw Danielle.

"_No one would listen_  
_No one but her Heard_  
_As the outcast hears._" I drew the small frame of her face, tinting the shades of her cheek bones.  
"_Shamed into solitude,_  
_Shunned by the multitude _  
_I learned to listen_  
_In my dark, my heart heard music_." I thought of the horrible years spent as the Devil's Child and the horrors Danielle faced as a little girl.  
"_I longed to teach the world_  
_Rise up and reach the world_  
_No one would listen_  
_I alone could hear the music._" I slashed the dark, maddening waves of her long hair around her oval face and kind eyes.  
"_Then at last, a voice in the gloom _  
_Seemed to cry 'I hear you;_  
_I hear your fears,_  
_Your torment and your tears._'" I drew her lips last, tantalizing and full.  
"_She saw my loneliness_  
_Shared in my emptiness_  
_No one would listen_  
_No one but her_  
_Heard as the outcast hears._" I hung my latest masterpiece next to a beautiful one of Christine, I hardly paid the former any attention.  
"_No one would listen_  
_No one but her_  
_Heard as the outcast hears._" I walked to my bedroom and blew out the candle closest to my bed before pulling the curtain down and, with a fond memory of Danielle shouting at another pair of drapery, went to sleep.

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you liked it! Same stuff of claim of belongings, and review!**


	18. Chapter 18

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I slowly woke up. The performance last night had taken the life right out of me. Then there was the thing with Erik and Buquet, I don't know how we'll go on with that haunting us tonight. Wait. Today was Saturday. Shit, we have to do a matinee show of _Hannibal._ If there was one thing I could get rid of in this world I'd get rid of matinee shows; now I was in an actual theater company this was serious shit. I looked around at the other girls in the room, they were all still asleep so I guessed that it was about five in the morning. I felt restless from last night. I could still see Joseph Buquet hanging by his neck and suspended in the air. I quietly got up and took a bath. Why did I suddenly take baths in the morning now? I always took them at night when I was at home. I can't believe I'm thinking about this in the tub, how lame am I? What else is there to think about? The way Buquet looked as he was hung in the air? No, something pleasant.

Uwe Kroger, let's think of him. Oh God, that man is gorgeous. He was incredible as Der Tod* in _Elisabeth_. I wouldn't mind dying if he was there to collect me. But he was only attracted to other men so it would be kinda weird. Still it's impossible to not appreciate his beauty. Uwe was a German Phantom of the Opera. There's no way to escape this thought process is there? I climbed out of the tub and dried off. Erik, what'll happen to you now? What happened to you after you went in that tunnel at the end of the movie? Did you die? I refuse to believe it ends with _Love Never Dies._ Damn Andrew Lloyd Webber for messing up the Phantom's ending by trying to make it romantical and crappy. Why was I thinking of this now? I'm in the story, it's my life now.

I'd seen a body once before, it was at a funeral and the casket was open. Of course the body had been embalmed and made up before being shown but looking at it it didn't seem real, like it was a doll instead of a human being. It was a terrible sight, not beautiful in the least. It made me want to scream but it felt like there was no air in my lungs to force out into a high, torturing note.

"There you are! We woke up and saw your bed empty, we had begun to worry about you," Meg said upon my return to the room. Christine offered me a faint smile but quickly went back to her own thoughts, maybe of being kidnapped by Erik.

"I just woke up early and decided to take advantage of the fact that no one was using the bathroom, I'll leave a note next time." I winked before tying my shoes, trying not to notice how Christine shuddered.

"The show starts in a few hours! Aren't you excited?" Meg gushed, I was happy that she was excited but I was a little on the fence about this, I didn't have an advantage anymore, between the three months of October and December Erik didn't bother anyone in the opera so the movie and play skipped over it and I don't know what I should do.

"Yeah, I'm ecstatic." I smiled back at her. "I'm going to go talk to Blaise before the show; see you soon." I walked to the door before I felt like I should turn around. Meg was trying to pump Christine up and couldn't understand why she wasn't in a great mood. How could she be in such a great mood after she saw someone killed last night? I guess it was the enigma that was Meg.

"Blaise! You up in the rafters?" I called up from the stage. A few men looked down at me disapprovingly, I guess I was messing with their concentration of something.

"Boo!" Blaise yelled from behind me. I jumped and yelped.

"What the hell?" I smacked his arm and began to walk away.

"Wait, didn't you have something to tell me?" He ran after me and caught up quickly.

"Nope, don't care anymore." I kept walking away.

"Come on! Tell me!" Blaise whined from behind me. I felt a smile tugging at my lips.

"Sorry, you're not important enough." I waved my hand over my shoulder, as if to dismiss him or wave away a fly.

"No, you have to tell me!" He picked me up, threw me over his shoulder and spun around.

"Stop! I'm going to be sick!" I laughed as the world blurred around me.

"I won't until you tell me!" He yelled back at me. I wonder how weird we looked like this; we could pass for brother and sister if attitudes were on the outside.

"You'd better stop before my foot makes love to your face!" Finally he set me down, my head was spinning like a top and I had to keep my feet rooted to the ground or else I'd fall or stumble around like a girl who couldn't hold her liquor.

"Now tell me." Blaise looked like he had just won some long game of monopoly or something.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go for drinks before the show." Wildly inappropriate but I was feeling a bit antsy and we had at least three hours before the matinee show.

"Depends, would you be paying?" Blaise crossed his arms, trying to look like he was considering it even though I already knew he was onboard.

"Oh yes. My salary has skyrocketed to the moon and I have enough to buy a small town," I said sarcastically. Blaise clasped his hands together gayly.

"Then I'd love to! I'm going to get my coat and have someone cover for me."

"I'm going to get my gloves and coat so let's meet in the front in ten minutes." We went our separate ways to get our things and go. When I got back to the dormitories it was almost empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Isabelle, she was lying on her bed with her eyes half open.

"Most of the girls went to practice, I chose to stay here and relax before the show." She looked at my gloves and coat that I was pulling on. "Are you going out?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'll only be gone for an hour though." She shrugged, not caring i I did, only that I came back safe and on time.

"Stay close to the Opera, we go on in three hours." I nodded and left, closing the door behind me. I waited by the stairs while Blaise haggled for his freedom. You never think you're gonna get a great gay friend by chance but it felt good to have one. Sure there are plenty of gay men in my school but they all talked about who they hooked up with. Ha ha, what? I don't want to deal with that. Though I'm sure they would have put up with me out of pity. Everyone knew what happened to me, I'm glad that they have more sense than to ask me about it. They had all seen my scar, it's not like I try to hide it. I wear bikinis and even crop tops. When we were younger they used to gawk at me but the older kids left me alone, the younger ones still stare at me in the hall. It's one of my favorite games to go up to them and whisper 'Wanna see my scar?' it usually gets them to turn white and run away. Dumb freshman.

I had decided to sit down and rest my legs when a letter came fluttering out of nowhere. The heavy red skull seal landing face down on the marble floors in front of me. Crap. I looked around the ceiling but I couldn't see a trace of Erik. I bent and picked up the letter, dreading what it was going to say.

Dear Danielle,  
I would not do that if I were in your place.  
Erik

Crappity crap crap. How will I tell Blaise that drinks were off?

"Dee! I'm ready, let's go!" Blaise ran up to me and tugged me to the door.

"No can do, the Phantom says otherwise." I showed him the skull seal and Blaise visibly paled. "We can still go out for lunch I guess, but that won't be as fun." I tried to smile and Blaise let out a shaky breath.

"That sounds great. Let's go." We walked out the door feeling eyes on us. Blaise still looked whiter than normal when we got to the restaurant; I decided to ask what was wrong. "I've never been in trouble with the Phantom before. They say if you mess up twice he'll kill you." He rubbed his arms in the invisible chill."Just look at what happened to Buquet; he kept trying to catch the Phantom, kept boasting how the Phantom was no match for him, and now he's dead. I don't want to end up like him." Blaise acted like Erik could still hear him. I bit the inside of my lip and rolled it between my teeth, what was I going to say to stop him from being so afraid?

"Well, Buquet was a bastard. I know you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but he was the worst man in the Opera Populaire. He deserves what he got and worse, I hope that bastard was terrified before he died." Well, that was dark. Nice going inner me, way to make your friend think you're a psychopath.

"Yes, he was a bad man, but how can you say he deserved to die? How can anyone deserve to die?" Blaise finished his food and I payed the bill.

"One day you'll understand," I said. And maybe he would; maybe he would see the horrors of World War I and he would see and understand how people could deserve to die. Blaise would be and old guy then, I realized, too old to fight. I hope by then he had found someone to love.

"What are you talking about? Do you know someone that deserves to die?" He got quiet for a minute. "Was it the man who hit you?" I looked at him, surprised. "I didn't say anything at the time, but I was worried for you. What happened?"

"It was the Phantom, I took a bottle of wine away from the kitchen, he saw and he slapped me blue." Blaise looked afraid all over again. "Let's go back, I need to get ready for that hellish matinee show." blaise still looked afraid but nodded and got up. "Let's go drinking after the show tonight, the Phantom can't tell us not to then, we won't have to be sober to do anything." He smiled down at me.

"Sure," we went up the steps and walked our separate ways, "don't do anything stupid, you hear?" He called back to me. I grinned and flipped him off.

"Don't tell me what to do!" He placed his hand over his heart and fake cried.

"You're so mean to me." I blew him a kiss and walked away.

ERIK  
Danielle was talking to the stage hand again; I still didn't approve of him, he seems like he's hiding something. I turned and walked back to my home. Why did Danielle drink so often? I've seen her with a flask as well, taking quick gulps of whatever alcohol it was filled with; drinking so often couldn't be good for her. Wait, why am I worrying for her? It's her choice, why should I get involved?

I pulled down the drawing of Danielle I drew the night before; she smiled back at me in black and white on the page. For the first time I wished I had paints to fill in the colors, put life into my work. I left my home, the walls seemed to press into me. I needed to talk to Danielle.

I walked through the passageways that connected to the dressing rooms and backstage. Danielle was leaning against a wall with her eyes closed, rotating her head and rolling her shoulders. By the set of her eyebrows she was upset over something. I pulled her by the arm into a dark corner where no one would notice us. Her eyes flew open and she raised her fist to strike whoever was pulling her; seeing that it was I she lowered her hand and gave me one of her looks, one that said 'what the hell do you think you're doing?'

"I'm sorry, is it time for me to be kidnapped? I thought my appointment was moved to next week," she said sarcastically. Her hands were on her hips and her eyebrow raised, she tried to look mad but she was smiling. "Can't you contact me like any normal human being by, I don't know, knocking on my door?"

"I'm the Phantom, I do what I want; besides, could you ever see me knocking on a door in my own theater?" She rolled her eyes before speaking again.

"So what do you need? Does it have anything to do with my efforts to get wasted before the matinee show?"

"Yes, but more of the question it brought up." Her eyebrow raised in lack of care, she knew that I wouldn't do anything to her again and seemed like she had deemed it appropriate to test my patience.

"Well spit it out," she urged. "I have to go back soon, they're going to come looking for me in a second, and I don't think that it'd be good for me to be caught talking with the Phantom."

"Are you an alcoholic?" I clenched my jaw, surprised at my own bluntness. Danielle's mouth hung open for a second, too stunned to speak.

"No, I'm not an alcoholic, so stop your worrying." She smacked the back of my head. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you drink just as often as those drunken stage hands in the rafters, how can you tell me you're not an alcoholic?" My voice got rougher as my accusation left my lips.

"Don't you know? Alcohol is a natural blood thinner. My medicine can't do all the work; I just drink to help it along." She looked at me haughtily. "Where's your accusations now, Mr hot-shot Phantom?" She took my hand and placed it on her rib cage, just below her breast. I tried to pull away but she held my hand there. "Feel my heartbeat Erik. Feel the broken rhythm." I tried to focus on the beating of her heart and not the fact that I was almost cupping her breast.

Sure enough I soon felt it against my hand. _Bump, bumpbump._ There was a soft echo after the second beat, making it irregular and a bit uneven. I knew that this had been caused by the damage her father had dealt her when he attempted to murder her. How is she not moving away from my hand? It is so close to her. I had never been this close to a woman before, then again, Danielle had held my head against her bosom before. She seemed to read my thoughts as an evil smile had crept across her face. She let my hand drop; I pulled it quickly to my side.

"Getting bothered? How old are you now, thirty five? Gotta get frustrated, being an old virgin and all." Anger licked in my mind as she laughed at her own joke.

"Hardly, the sins of the body hold no interest for me." I lifted my chin defiantly. Her eyes slitted.

"Not even the sins of my body?" She wrapped her hand around my neck, pulling me forward and pressing our bodies together. I could feel her hips pressing against mine through her white costume. Her lips met my throat, right over my pulse. I felt my heart rate quicken and her lips curve up as she smiled against my skin. "I can feel your heart racing." Her lips brushed against my jaw, I could feel a shudder ripple through my body. I inhaled her scent of jasmine, roses and baby powder. Time stood still for a moment. Soon she pushed me away. "Well, this escapade's been fun, but I have a matinee to do." She skipped for our hiding place into the open.

"Tease." I muttered. She turned and winked at me.

"And don't you forget it." I watched as her hips swayed back and forth as she walked away before disappearing behind some pieces of stage. I turned and walked to my box, determined to keep what just happened from my mind. I didn't take my eyes off Danielle the entire show.

DANIELLE  
I can't believe I just did that. Why did I do that? There was absolutely no good reason for me to risk my life for nothing. Yep, that was a bad idea. But God, was that funny. Not 'I'll totally die for this' funny but funny enough. It felt kind of nice holding someone like that. I stopped walking and gently slapped my cheeks. There was no thinking that; Erik was going to fall in love with Christine, get his heart broken and love her until the day he died, he has one of those obsessive personalities.

I went onstage and recited my lines mechanically, I went on autopilot the rest of the show and soon it was over.

"Hey Dee, you feeling okay?" Blase came down to congratulate me but clearly noticed something was up.

"Nothing's wrong with me, but you look like you're about to birth a cow." Blase's face was pale, almost green. "Sup with you?" I put my hand to his forehead. "Are you sick?"

"No, no." He looked around nervously. "It's just... my dad is in the audience. He likes to come see the shows just to torture me." I stared at him blankly.

"Your father?" I asked, not sure I fully understood.

"Yeah, I told him I was... interested in men and he didn't take it so well; he kicked me out the next day. Luckily I was able to get a job and move in here before having to resort to sleeping in a park. My father told me that if I wanted to come home I would have to apologize for what I was and marry the girl my parents had picked out for me. I couldn't do it. Not just for me but for Mirabelle; she's a childhood friend of mine and it would break her heart to enter a passionless marriage with her, she's too good for that." Blaise looked completely tortured.

"Why don't we go out for a cup of tea? I would offer alcohol but someone may be listening." I pointed up and Blaise got my meaning. "I'm going to go get dressed, wait for me by the front door." I turned to walk away, an idea forming in my mind.

I walked out of my dressing room and down the hall. There were quite a few flowers and men wanting dates in the hall and some people who just wanted to compliment us on our work. I looked through the crowd and found a man with dark hair who looked almost identical to Blaise, showing only the graceful parks of age here and there. I made a beeline for him and made my way over.

"Good evening Monsieur, I hope you enjoyed the show." I smiled up at him, trying to come off as sweet and nice as possible. He turned to face me, a little amusement on his face.

"Yes, Madame, I enjoyed it very much. Quite splendid really." He squinted at me for a moment before he realized I was in the show. "You sang wonderfully; I might have to come to see it again." I smiled at him again. I looked around and caught Blaise staring, horrified, at his father and I.

"I'm sorry Monsieur, but I promised a good friend of mine that I would take him out for tea; I must say goodbye." I curtsied to him.

"Your fiancee Madame?" He asked. What business of it was his? I plastered another smile on my face.

"Oh no, just a friend who works here as a stage hand. He's quite the kind man." I turned and walked towards Blaise, making sure that his father saw us walk out the door together.

"Why would you do that?" Blaise whined as we got out of the crowd trying to escape the theater.

"Because I wanted to talk to him for myself. He seems like an arrogant and sad man." Blaise grunted, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

"Hey guys, wait up!" We turned to see Henri coming towards us. I grinned and waited for him. Blaise turned pink and looked away. "Where are you going?"

"Just to the cafe a few blocks away."

"Do you want to come?" Blaise piped up. Good, I thought I'd have to do all the talking.

"Sure." We fell into a pace together.

"You realize I'm not paying for you two, right?" Blaise put his hand to his head in a fake swoon and Henri mimed hysterical crying. "Why are all my guy friends such Queens?" Blaise turned red and darted his eyes to Henri.

"What's a Queen?" Henri asked. Time to lie.

"A drama queen."

"Oh." Henri looked appeased and Blaise shot daggers at me through his eyes. I ignored him and went into the shop.

As we sat enjoying our tea and each others company I could feel the tension leave the air and we talked like everything was normal again.

"I have something to say," Henri said, putting his tea down. We turned to look at him and give him our undivided attention. "I'm not going to stay at the Opera Populaire anymore. My father is ill and I need to go back home and run his shop until he gets better."

**Sorry it took me so long to update, I've got wicked writers block. Sorry this chapter's so boring but I hope you liked it. Remember to review and the characters belong to their rightful owners.**


	19. Chapter 19

"I can't believe it," I said. Henri's life was the Opera, how could he leave us? "Are you the only one that can go?"

"Yes, my mother needs my help and I am the oldest son, it's my duty to make sure my family stays afloat." He laughed once. "And besides, my brother has a horrible business sense; he'd bankrupt the family business within a week." I glanced over to Blaise; he looked about ready to cry.

"Will you ever come back?" I asked.

"I hope to, if my father gets better. If another male dancer better than me comes to the Opera while I'm gone I'll be doomed." Henri tried to laugh it off but Blaise and I could both tell that he was hurting on the inside.

"The Opera won't be the same without you," Blaise finally said over the brim of his cup. Blaise should really be in the theater, the way he masks his emotions do well is incredible. There was a blankness in his eyes that showed his true emotions. Blaise was in love with Henri and Henri was leaving, maybe for good. I felt my heart break for him. I can't believe I didn't see it before; and here I was, constantly flirting with Henri. I'm such a bitch.

"I wish I could stay but, you know, family comes first." Blaise carefully placed his cup on its saucer and got up from the table.

"Actually no, I don't." He turned and walked away, leaving Henri in shock.

"Did I say something?" Henri looked concerned.

"Blaise has a complicated relationship with his family." I really didn't want to get into Blaise's problems without him here. Henri finished his tea in one gulp and got up.

"I'd better go talk to him." I got up as well and went to pay, leaving with him. "What can I say to make him feel better?" 'Take me in your arms, Blaise, and never let me go.' Or maybe 'kiss me' would be better.

"Why don't you say something about how important he is to you and how much you'll miss him." We walked in silence after that until we walked in the front door of the Opera.

"Danielle, I wanted to ask you something." He took my hands. "Will you come with me?"

"What?" I asked and looked up from our interlocked hands.

"I want you to come with me, please say you will." He asked tentatively. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Henri, I can't." He looked so upset, I felt like the biggest bitch in the world. "I'm sorry Henri but I'm living my dream, I'm an actress, it's all I wanted in my life; you're a wonderful, wonderful man, but I can't go with you." Henri closed his eyes to stop the tears from slipping out. All I wanted for the longest time was someone to like me like this but I couldn't leave here and, I hate to admit it, but I never had special feeling for him. Yes, I liked to flirt with him but that didn't amount to the love someone should be in when they get together. It's not fair to Henri that I accidentally led him on. But, as Labyrinth taught me, life's not fair. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," he said. He let my hands go and turned his back on me. "I feel selfish; we hardly went on a date anyway." I reached for his hand and squeezed it. "I shouldn't have thought to take you from where you were doing so well; promoted to the second female lead from a cleaning lady in a few months."

"I'm sorry Henri." I stood on my toes and pulled him into a hug. "Come back soon."

"I'll try." I kissed him on the cheek and walked off to the dormitories.

ERIK  
I watched Danielle press her lips against the ballet rat's cheek as jealousy filled my chest. What was so great about him that she would kiss him? I placed my hand over my mask, remembering when she willingly kissed the twisted skin there. I knew if I said anything to Danielle she would yell at me or refuse to speak to me at all. The rat had always been interested in her, I thought bitterly. She hardly spends any time with me at all. Of course, with all the performances it would be hard to have our lessons. I was happy for her but, I hate to admit it, I was feeling a little lonely without her. Accusing her of being an alcoholic wasn't going to get me anywhere but on her hate list.

I allowed enough time for her to dress her bed before going to the tunnel I knew led to the female dormitories and Looked in. Danielle was talking to Christine and Meg.

"Henri said he needs to go help his mother with his family's store, he doesn't know when he'll be back," she said. I felt a rising triumph. The boy was leaving and I didn't have to do a thing. "He asked me to go with him." Shock froze my bones for a moment before everything fell into place. She was leaving with him, she was leaving me to be with him. I turned and fled to my home before collapsed in sobs. Danielle, the only one who loved me, was leaving.

DANIELLE  
"What did you say?" Meg demanded. Even Christine was out of her fog at this news; I guess their questions were alright as long as Christine was finally off autopilot.

"I turned him down." They looked at me with shock in their eyes, their mouths made small O's.

"Why?" Christine demanded. "You had a chance to get away from here, get married to a handsome man and have a good life, why would you give that up?" I knew she was talking about what she wanted.

"Well, I didn't want to leave you. I have a good job doing what I love, with people that I love, why would I give that up?" They looked at me suspiciously. "I didn't love Henri like that anyway, I wasn't ready for it yet." Actually, all I wanted was for someone to love me like that but I couldn't have it because I didn't know when I'd go back to my time. I still felt bad for hurting Henri; I couldn't believe that this was his last circuit and that he was leaving when these shows were over.

"I guess it's your choice and we shouldn't say anything against it," Meg said. I raised my eyebrow.

"You guess? Were you going to meddle in my love life and try to make me Henri's wife?" Meg turned red; I guess that was exactly what she was going to do.

"Wonderful. A word of advice: don't ever try to set me up, it'll end bad." Meg and Christine went beet red.

"Sorry, sorry." Meg busied herself with getting ready for that night's show, straightening the costume on her bed and fixing her hair. Christine sat on her bed and closed her eyes, she still didn't look too good; I wonder how she would look when she was called to play prima donna in _Don Juan Triumphant._ Poor Christine, she's too innocent to have to deal with this.

"Are you alright Christine?" Of course she isn't, I mentally kicked myself. She looked up and tried to smile.

"Yes, of course I'm alright." She lied. I felt horrible for not spending a lot of time with them recently. Huh, I haven't spent a lot of time with Erik either. Crap, now I feel worse. Well the matinee was at 12 and ended at three, I went out at 3:30 with Blaise and Henri for two hours so now it's 5:30, the show starts in an hour. I checked my makeup in a mirror. It'll last.

"I'm going to go for a walk," I said as I walked to the door.

"But the show starts in an hour!" Christine called after me.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, don't worry." I waved and promised I'd spend time with them later. I quickly made my way to the tunnel Erik had shown me and went in, making sure no one was around to see me. I followed the tunnel and saw a light at the end. "This must be like wandering to death." I muttered. I stepped into Erik's home and looked around. He wasn't sitting at his organ and he wasn't standing near the shore. The gondola was there so I knew he was home. I walked up the steps leading to his bed. "Erik?" The curtain was down and I could see a form on the bed. I was surprised the Erik was asleep, he never missed a show.

Erik had fallen asleep with his shoes on and face down in his bed, it hardly looked comfortable. The idea of take my dress off and lay next to him in the stupid 19th century underwear to freak him out was knocking at the back of my mind, begging to be set free. But seriously, twice in one day? I'd be killed this time for sure. I'll have to save that for next time. I knelt next to his bed and shook his shoulder. The deformed side of his face was pressed against the pillows.

"Hey, wake up." He opened his eyes and jumped, covering the side of his face.

"What are you doing here?" He turned away from me, I guess he was more upset about the virgin thing than I thought.

"Waking your pissy ass up. You never miss a show and I thought you might want to get in your box before the aristocracy comes and makes it harder for you to slip in unnoticed." I walked over to where he stood and pulled his face around to look at me. His hand still covered his deformity. "What's wrong this time, Erik?" I gently pulled his hand from his face and held it with both of mine, he covered it again with the other one.

"Nothing. I'm just upset that you would leave your career here to go be a housewife for that ballet rat Henri." I let my hands drop out of his.

"Is that what this is about? For God's sake, I'm not going with Henri! I'm staying right where I am!" Erik looked at me with shock, letting his hand drop from his face.

"But I heard you talking to Christine and Meg about how he asked you to leave with him," he said.

"You have a bad habit of only listening to half of the conversation before jumping to conclusions." I threw my hands in the air, it seemed like God wanted my life to become one giant mess. "God, why don't you just ask me about what you hear, or better yet, fix your eavesdropping problem." Why did this seem to happen so often? Jesus.

"Then you're not leaving?"

"I said that, didn't I? I wish I could say something sappily sweet like 'I couldn't stand leaving you' but this happens too often for me to miss this part of you." I began to walk to the mouth of the tunnel. "I need to get up top, the show's starting soon." I turned to him and laughed. "You've got pillow creases on your face, I can't believe you slept with a wig on." I left and went to get ready for the show.

ERIK  
I did it again. I saw something and jumped to a conclusion. I can't believe Danielle puts up with me at all. I put my mask back on and pulled my coat on. I looked at myself in the mirror, wondering what Danielle saw when she looked at me, certainly not the monster everyone else did. I ran my finger over the spot at my throat where her lips had pressed hours before. I thought of her body so close to mine and the broken rhythm of her heart, she was such a strange person.

I went up to watch the performance, tonight it was Il Muto. Christine looked beautiful, if not a bit on edge. I was proud of how well she was singing. Then Danielle came on and stole the show, she sang in her pure, high voice, sounding like an angel. She had really taken to the pace of life at the Opera Populaire, I thought she would have a much harder time adjusting to the constant performances and all the blocking but she just smiled and worked and became a real starlet. I wonder who taught her before me? She never talked about her previous teacher.

Half way through the second act Danielle put her hand on her head while she led Piangi to Christine. I knew that wasn't in the blocking and I wondered if she had a headache. The rest of the show was wonderful, except for that buffoon Piangi; how did I let him stay at my opera so long?

After the cast took their final bows and gathered the flowers thrown they retired to the dressing rooms, some of them left for dinner and I watched Christine leave with Meg, Danielle was nowhere to be seen. I made my way over to the dressing room they had given her for privacy and checked to see if she was in there. Danielle sat with her head in her hands surrounded by deep red roses, with baby's breath. She didn't seem to be crying, just resting her eyes.

"Why did you not go out with your friends, I'm sure they're missing you," I said, making her jump.

"Erik, what have I told you about knocking?" I dropped into her room from the secret door.

"That I should start, but I told you that I will not knock in my own theater." Her head lolled to the side as she glared at me. "Now answer my question."

"Well, I was going to spend time with you since we haven't been able to talk very much, but I got a brief case of vertigo during the show and decided to take it easy for the night." She put her head on her desk and closed her eyes. "You seemed lost without me, jumping to conclusions and killing people, so I thought I'd come around and play with you."

"I'm not a child." I muttered and crossed my arms in front of me. She looked at me with a sly smile.

"Then, do you want to continue where we left off?" She pushed her lips out and lifted her dress up a bit, exposing one slender, stocking clad ankle.

"Don't tease me, it's annoying." I turned away from her.

"Your mouth says no, but your mind says 'take me now baby!'" She flopped to the back of her chair and hugged herself, making kissing noises. How could she act so unladylike?

"Stop being so childish, you are a full grown woman and should act as such." She began to laugh.

"Where I'm from, you're not an adult until you're eighteen and you can't even drink until you're twenty one, so no, I'm not a grown woman in the least." She shifted around uncomfortably in her chair. "Hey Erik, carry me to bed." Danielle held up her arms like a small child and I wondered if she had changed back to her child state.

"And why should I do that?"

"'Cause you love me." I stared at her for a moment. "Fine, it's because I want to wrap my arms around your sexy shoulders." Danielle laughed. "You're blushing." I sighed and put my arms under her legs and around her back. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pressed her cheek against my chest; for a moment I was worried she'd hear my heart beating. "Let's go!"

I walked down the corridors in the shadows, trying not to make a noise. Danielle groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. "My head's spinning, I feel like Sarah after Jareth gave her that roofie peach."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your roommate, you know, the great, glittering ponce that you bunk with." Apparently this was the new funniest thing in the world because Danielle could hardly hold back her laughter.

"I'll never understand you," I said.

"Good, if you did then all the fun would go out of life." I entered the empty dormitories and set her down on her bed. "Thanks Erik." Her voice was sunny, as always, but she looked a bit pale.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked.

"I just need some water and I'll be fine." I turned up the lamp by her bed and saw how pale she really was. As I thought about it, the lights were low in her dressing room and the halls had been dim as well. Her lips, usually such a vibrant pink, were near white and her eyes drooped with the effort of acting normally.

"What's wrong?" Worry infected my senses, leaving me paralyzed.

"Nothing I can't handle, Erik. Don't worry." She shuddered and lay on her back. "Did ya notice how I didn't drink at all today? Well this is what happens when I don't. Really they work off each other, the alcohol comes in with the medicine and the medicine reacts to the alcohol and becomes effective enough to work on me. It used to work for a long time without the booze but when I had just turned seventeen it wasn't working as well so my brothers did some research and found that alcohol strengthened it."

"Your brothers?" She had never mentioned her family much.

"Yeah, Grey and Donnie; they're both surgeons. Grey specializes in the brain though and Donnie in the body, they're pretty successful." She fiddled with her fingers, drawing designs in the air. "Can you get me my flask? It's under the bed." I handed it to her and she took a long swig. "Damn, that's disgusting, but it keeps me alive." Her eyelids began to droop a bit, she must have been exhausted. "I guess that's life for ya, bitter and horrible with just enough sweet spots to make it all worthwhile." Danielle slipped into unconsciousness and left me to pull the blanket over her. I left thinking of what she had said; 'just enough sweet spots to make it all worthwhile.'

**Finally chapter 19! I can't believe I got so lazy in my updating. Did you like the Roommates reference? If you haven't already, you should totally read it! Roommates belongs to AsheRhyder on Deviantart, Labyrinth belongs to Jim Henson, Jareth belongs to David Bowie and Jim Henson and Sarah belongs to Jennifer Connelly and Jim Henson. Phantom characters belong to their rightful owners and OC's to me. Review and I hope you enjoyed!**


	20. Chapter 20

I woke up to birds chirping outside. I turned over in my bed and brought my hands to my face. I opened my eyes and saw the sleeve to my dress and groaned; I got so used to wearing a corset that it didn't even bug me while I was sleeping. I wonder how small my waist was now, before it was twenty five inches but I could definitely tell that it was smaller. I guess it could be the all the exercise I was doing as well but damn, I hardly graced ninety pounds before.

"Danielle, did you sleep in your dress?" Christine asked as she got up to dress.

"Yeah, I was just marveling at how Goddamn thin I was getting, this corset hardly bugs me anymore. I know it's not tied as tight as yours are but it's pretty tight and I'm definitely smaller than I used to be, and I was pretty small before." I looked around for one of the tape measures that the ballerinas liked to keep around to keep them from eating too much and spoiling their dancers bodies. "I haven't been measured since I left the hospital."

"You were in the hospital?" Meg asked. Oh yeah, I didn't tell her. I made an 'X' over my heart.

"Yeah, I got a bad heart so I've been in and out of the hospital a lot in my life, doesn't matter much now," I said. I found a tape measure and wrapped it around me, reading the numbers. "Twenty one inches. Wow. I can only guess how much I weigh right now." I dressed in my costume for _Il Muto_ and decided to get my makeup done later, so it would be fresh. I decided to take a walk around backstage since the play was going to begin in an hour and I couldn't go outside. I felt a little hungry so I slipped into the kitchen to get something to eat before I fainted from hunger. I maneuvered as best I could in the gown and grabbed an apple.

"Out for an evening stroll m'lady?" The cook Simon said, tipping an imaginary cap. I rolled my eyes and bowed deep and gracefully, lifting one hand high into the air.

"Why yes, as a matter of fact I am. Would you kindly tell the butler to bring my carriage around, servant boy?" I rubbed the apple on the front of my dress until it shone a rich red. This reminded me of the 'Point of No Return ' scene in the stage musical version of Phantom; I smirked and took three quick steps back to the door.

"Servant boy?" Simon whined, "I'm older than you by at least five years." I shrugged my shoulders and took a bite. Simon swatted me out of the kitchen with the rag on his shoulder. "Go back to your fancy plays and such, you're bothering the real workers."

"Well what I do ain't easy; can you sing this high?" I let out my highest note for a minute straight before cutting off. "Or hold it that long? That is not the easiest thing in the world and maybe I'd rather be making a cake than making people watch me on stage."

"Poor baby; why don't you come eat with us tonight? It'll lift your spirits after being with those pretentious 'actors' and the whore ballerinas." He leaned in, trying to press our lips together and lifted his eyebrows suggestively. I rolled my eyes again.

"Please. I'm not going to sleep with you after you said my friends are whores, no matter how true it is for some of them." The kitchen laughed; apparently they were all watching this exchange. "Hell, I'm not going to sleep with you at all. Not my type." I pressed a kiss to his nose and pulled away.

"And that's why I like you, Cinderella," he said. After I got promoted to second lady the people I'd made friends with when I was a cleaning girl called me Cinderella because I'd become a rags-to-riches story all of a sudden. It was more annoying than you'd think. I walked around backstage, looking at all of the props that were going to be used for _Il Muto_. I felt my heart swell, I was finally an actor. Well, not the way I'd imagined it, laying on my bed at night with a German textbook in hand, most recently, and a list of all the plays I wanted to be in during my life; I had never imagined that I'd be playing a bunch of parts I'd never heard of. It was kind of refreshing not knowing about the show ahead of time and just reading the script and going for it.

Soon I went to get my makeup put on and pump myself up for the show. "Dee! Good luck today!" Blaise called down from the rafters. I blew him a kiss and he pretended to catch it and rub it over his face. I bit on my lips trying not to laugh. I watched as he looked over to where Henri was standing fixing his shirt; Blaise looked about ready to cry when he blew him a kiss, he was really broken up about this. I ran over to where I was supposed to enter with Henri and Maurice and nudged Henri, telling him to look up, when he did he saw Blaise and smiled, Blaise smiled back.

"Blow him a kiss for luck; we can never be sure when the Phantom's going to kill a man." The look on Henri's face was worth the result. He hastily lifted his hand to his lips and blew a kiss a Blaise, realized what he did, got all fidgety and turned away. Blaise's reaction wasn't much better. Blaise turned red as a beacon and swooned. I gave him a thumbs up and he flipped me off. He can thank me later, for now I had to go on to what was going to be a great show.

ERIK  
It angered me to see Danielle and the stagehand and the ballet rat passing kisses to each other, not that I knew why it vexed me so, it had nothing to do with me. Frustrated, I sat in my box and watched the performance, not really absorbing what was going on. At least the rat will be gone soon, now if only I had a way to get rid of the stagehand; if I hurt him Danielle would never speak to me again, or tell someone how to find my home.

No, Danielle would never do that, no matter how angry she was at me. I felt bad for thinking she would do something like that, no matter what I've done to her so far, she has always forgiven me and let the matters rest. As the actors took their bows I left and went to my home to try and find something to occupy my time. Drawing held no appeal for me, composing was too slow a process and going back upstairs seemed useless. Christine would be out with that useless patron and Danielle would be out with those men of hers; yes, I believed that the stagehand was only her friend, but the dancer clearly had interest in her. I had a hard time not killing him myself, the only things keeping me from it was the fact that he was leaving soon and that Danielle cared for him.

Finally I settled on my violin as an outlet for my energy. I delicately took the old instrument out of its case and slashed the strings with the bow, not playing any song in particular, just trying to put my anger into the notes. Anger for what? I didn't know; maybe it was for the fact that Christine, the only woman I have ever loved was choosing that fop over me, the one who has with her since her father died. And where was he? Suddenly he decided to reappear and pull her away from me. I was sure Danielle was seeing him before, what had happened with that? If had hurt her I would kill him. I heard soft footsteps coming down the tunnel and instantly knew it was Danielle.

"Hey Dummy, are you down here?" She sauntered out of the tunnel like she owned the place. She looked at me holding my violin and asked. "What's got your panties up your ass this time?" She put her hands on her hips and looked pointedly at me.

"How vulgar, you need to learn how to speak like a lady," I said, not wanting to talk about it. She cocked her head to the side and looked at me in the eyes, sighed and sat down, patting her lap.

"Come and lay your head on my lap baby, maybe you'll feel better if I rock you to sleep." I couldn't believe what she had said, was she mad?

"Have you lost every bit of your mind? I am at least eighteen years older that you and three times your weight." I put my violin in its case and carefully closed the lid, not looking at her.

"Come on, you look mopey as hell and my mommy instincts have kicked in; I can't leave you like that." I turned to her, bewildered.

"Mommy instincts?" I said; she looked at me as if I were a particularly dim child working on Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

"Yeah, the need to act like a protective mother, every women has them."

"My mother did not," I said bitterly.

"You mother was a bitch and not worth of the title 'human'." Danielle sounded just as bitter. I turned to look at her; she sat just as she had been before, hands in lap and waiting for me. I sighed and, knowing she wouldn't give up, went to rest my head in her lap. I tried to look as dignified as I could in my compromising position. Then she began undressing me. I sat up, away from her fingers.

"What are you doing?" I looked down at my jacket, which she had managed to undo. What was she planning. The thought made me flush, I thanked whatever deity would listen that Danielle could not see me.

"Undressing you, resting in full regalia doesn't seem very comfortable." I felt the heat in my face go down.

"And why didn't you tell me what you were planning?"

"Because I knew it would be funny," she said, smiling sweetly. I glared at her. "Come on, let me baby you, I'll show you how a mom's supposed to act when her kid has a bad day." She smiled and patted her lap again indicating I should rest my head there.

"Fine." I gave up, only because I knew she would just push the point until I gave in later. She stood and pulled of my mask and wig. It was hard to accept being around her without it, no matter how unbothered she seemed about it. I took off my coat and again rested my head in her lap. Danielle worked her fingers through my hair and sung something quietly; it didn't have words and after a minute I recognized it was something in German. My muscles relaxed and the tunnel looked soft focused around the edges. What are you singing?"

"Just a song from the future, you won't know it." She shrugged her shoulders and continued. I understood a bit of it, something about the shadows growing longer and everything is cold and harsh, though the words were German it made some sense to me as I had been reading German plays for a while, though I was not fluent in it. I was surprised Danielle was.

"I didn't know you knew German," I said. Again she shrugged.

"I don't need to tell you everything; besides, what else am I supposed to do all day, sing?" Her voice lightened in jest.

"Who taught you to sing?" I surprised myself; of course I'd wondered but it seemed of little importance, but whoever taught her must have been even greater than I to help give her a voice like this. Danielle looked down at me and cocked her head.

"Her name was Laura, Laura Blue. I met with her every Wednesday in the Hospital cafeteria or my room and she would bring an electronic keyboard and give me sheet music to sing. Almost every Wednesday for three years." She looked off to the lake, remembering the days she would sing with her. "Most of the time it seemed like she was my only friend. She helped me fight off the spiralling depression and hate; but when you think about it, isn't it a bit lonely? Only having your voice teacher as your only friend?"

"Electronic keyboard?" I couldn't understand what that could be. Maybe I asked the question to understand what it was, or it could be I wanted Danielle to feel happy again.

"It's only the part of the piano with the keys and it works like a... uh," she stopped, I suppose she didn't know how to explain it, "magic?"

"Of course." I rolled my eyes and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Shut up, I still know more stuff than you do," she said as she flipped her braid over her shoulder.

"Like what?"

"You know the Empress of Austria, Elisabeth? She's going to be assassinated in 1898." I looked at her in shock. How did she know this?

"Future, remember?" She shook her head. "It must seem pretty cruel, saying she's going to die and all, but that's how it goes. Rudolf kills himself with his mistress, her first born daughter dies when she's two and she's crazy obsessed with her beauty, I think she'd be more at peace dead than alive." She shook her head. "God, I sound like a murderer. I mean, she's had a really horrible life and she needs a break from it, something to stop the pain she's in."

"How do you know she's in pain?" I whispered.

"The only thing in her life she could control was her beauty, and now she's getting old, the thing she feared most. Death isn't something to be afraid of, Death is the most merciful thing; if I had died that day on the forest floor I would have gladly walked away from this world hand in hand with the entity that had so mercifully taken me from this harsh world." Danielle's eyes were unfocused. "I must have been meant to do something great or I wouldn't have lived," she shook her head clear and looked down at me, "that's the only reason I haven't committed suicide yet, Death made me live so I could do something big, I won't waste the life I'm given, not matter how short or painful." She fiddled with the necklace the boy Raul had given her, she hardly ever took it off. I wanted to snatch it from around her neck and toss it in the lake but I knew Danielle would have made me find it for her.

"I am glad you are here with me." I surprised us both by saying. A grin stretched across her face and she ruffled my hair.

"So am I." After that I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew she was shaking me awake.

"Sorry to disturb you baby, but I need to get hence to bed." I shot up from my reclined position, my head still warm from resting on Danielle's lap; I was embarrassed that I had actually allowed myself to go to sleep next to her. Thankfully Danielle didn't comment on my move. She stood and walked to the door. "I'll see you later." She waved and walked through the door of the tunnel.

I tried to go to bed, staying up for hours before finally falling asleep, my thoughts were consumed with Danielle.

DANIELLE  
I walked back up to the opera above, hardly sleepy at all. I decided to wander around the streets, maybe go to a bar for a bit, I didn't really feel like getting plastered tonight.

"Hey Dee, where did you go after the show? I couldn't find you." I looked and saw Blaise reclining on the staircase just inside the doors. He looked like he'd been lying there for a while.

"What're you doing there?"

"Nothing, I just didn't want to be in the dormitories, the other men are always talking about who they want to sleep with, it's gross." He shuddered, I rolled my eyes; he could be so over dramatic. "And I just couldn't be around Henri, I just can't stand," tears welled in his eyes, "being around him and knowing he's going to leave." Blaise furiously wiped at his eyes, not letting his tears fall.

"Oh, honey." I hugged him and wished I could do something to help him. "Let's go down to the bar, ease your pain with the sounds of drinking and drunks fighting." He laughed a bit, wiping his eyes again.

"Yeah, that sounds better than mooning over Henri or sitting on the steps and feeling sorry for myself," he said. I pulled him up and held his hand as we walked to the pub.

Blaise knocked back two beers in the blink of an eye. I hadn't planned on him getting drunk, I guess it was okay; he wanted to forget the pain he was in so I guess I'd pay for a few drinks. "I'm so tired of being sad!" Blaise slurred after another drink. "Why couldn't I have been born a woman, then would he love me?" Blaise kicked the bar, trying to put on a happy face but I knew he was still miserable.

"Damn right, he doesn't deserve someone as drop dead sexy as you!" Blaise fluffed himself up a bit and stuck his nose in the air.

"I know, I'm great!"

"And modest." I shot back.

"Well, we can't have it all, you know." He winked, just a little bit of laughter flooding into his eyes. He chugged his beer and slammed it back onto the bar.

"I'm sorry, I keep going on like this and you were dating him; I can't believe I'm one of those friends who chase after their friends boyfriend."

"We weren't dating, it was more like flirting; I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have amounted to anything in the end." I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip from his mug. "I'm just glad being gay isn't accepted, if it were I'd have no men coming to me, they'd all be flocking to you."

"Damn right!" He yelled, making the entire bar turn to look at us.

"Time to go home Bee, you're drunk." I pushed him to the door as he weakly protested.

"Nooo, I want more booze!" He tried to go back through the door but I pushed him on the path for home.

"No. Home. Now," I said. He pouted and pushed away from me.

"Boo, you're so mean." He took off down the street, zig zagging away from me. I took off after him.

"Blaise, get back here!" I heard him laughing in the distance before I heard a wild neigh and shouts from an angry driver followed by a horrible scream and a sickening crack. "Blaise!" I took off to his side. Blaise lay bloody and white the the street by a man in a top hat and a shy horse carrying a cart. I couldn't see him breathing.

**Hi guys, sorry it took so long to write, I'm still in a slump. :/ What's going to happen next? Find out next time. Review!**


	21. Chapter 21

I cradled Blaise's broken brow in my lap and cried. I screamed for help and, what seemed like an eternity later, an ambulance came. I suppose the man who had hit him had gone for it. Had the telephone been invented yet? I really need to study more in history; that is, if I ever got home. But what did it matter now? Blaise might die and that was another person gone from my life. It was almost like I was poisonous, everyone I love dies; my mother, my little baby sister, now Blaise.

"Blaise you'd better not die, because if you do I'll kill you, do you hear? I'll kill you." My eyes stung with the tears as I yelled through the door. Blaise was being operated on, they're trying to save him. "Blaise you'd better live, if you die what am I going to do?" I fell to the ground and wrapped my arms around my knees, letting my tears come free. A nurse helped me up and sat me in a chair, and asked if I needed anything. I numbly shook my head before looking up quickly.

"Can you call his family? Is there one called 'Dion' who are rich enough to go to the Opera Populaire?" She looked a little puzzled but promised she would try to find out. I didn't know what to do, was Blaise going to live? What was I going to do if he died? He was my best friend. I couldn't believe that I haven't told him anything, not about my illness, my being from the future or how I was being taught by Erik. What kind of a friend was I?

The surgeon came out after nearly three hours of surgery, it was 2:41 in the morning. "Madame BellRose? Your friend, Monsieur Dion is in critical condition, if he survives through the night, he may have a chance of living but those chances are slim. The horse kicked him in the chest and broke a few of his ribs, which caused a few cuts to the lungs and the impact of the cart caused bone fractures in his left arm, leg and skull, along with some internal bleeding. I've called a priest to give him his last rites." I covered my mouth with my hand so the doctor wouldn't hear my sobs; why did he have to die? I'd like to believe he still had a chance but if a priest was coming there must be too little hope. I wish Erik was here. The sound of footsteps coming down the hall made me look up. It was Blaise's father, towing a pale woman with dark wavy hair, just like Blaises'; this must be his mother.

"What has the boy gotten himself into this time? I've already washed my hands of him and now I'm getting people rapping at my door at all hours of the day saying he's in the hospital." Anger swelled in my chest, so I slapped him hard across the face. The woman shank back.

"What the _fuck_ is your problem? Blaise is _dying_! He was hit by a horse cart and he's in the hospital! How can you act like that? He's your baby, why don't you love him?" The woman turned away and the man looked about ready to burst from anger. I let my tears spill over. "He's your baby," I said to the woman, "you held him in your arms when he was cold or scared or in pain, you fed him when he was hungry, you watched him take his first steps and say his first words. He gave you all the love he could and you push him away like he has the plague, what kind of mother are you?" She shrank at my words. I backed up and dressed them both. "Neither of you deserve the title parents and I'll be damned before I let you go in there to yell at him for getting killed."

"How dare you try to act as though you know our history, how dare you yell at my wife!" He yelled at me, I spat at his feet.

"What do you deserve? You found out he likes men and you kicked him out, thinking that he was doing it just to spite you, isn't that right? You just couldn't accept him and now he's going to die. If you had loved him anyway he would still be alive." The woman broke down.

"My baby, let me see my baby!" She ran to the door and pulled at it, "This is your fault, Jean-Pierre; if I hadn't listened to you my baby would still be alive and well!" She ran into the room where Blaise lay still and pale. She collapsed against the bed and cried.

"He disgraced us! He went off cavorting with men while we had promised him to the daughter of the Rousseau family and he refused her hand! It took a year to get back into proper society and he hardly batted an eyelash! I told him that until he got rid of such blasphemous desires he had to make his own way in the world, it was his choice not to come back!" I pulled both of them out of the room, afraid that they would wake Blaise and cause him more unnecessary pain.

"No matter what you thought of him, he is my best friend and he is the greatest guy I have ever met and if you can't accept him for what he is then I respectfully ask you to get the hell out, I'll send word if he lives." Jean-Pierre scoffed.

"Why would I care if lived or not, he is a disgrace to my name." I braced myself and set my hands on my hips.

"Not for your sake, but for hers." I nodded towards his wife. "At least she still seems to care for the child that came from the two of you." He tugged at her hand and pulled her to the door. She turned and mouthed thank you to me. I walked through the door to the hospital room Blaise was in and sat in the chair next to his bed and held his hand. Somehow, after all that yelling and noise, he was still asleep. I felt his pulse beating through his fingers, it was weak. I leaned my head on the part of the mattress next to his head and began to cry again, why was life so unfair? Blaise didn't deserve to die, my mother didn't deserve to die, and Maria, Maria really didn't deserve to die; why do all the good people die before their time? Blaise moaned and stirred a bit, opening his eyes.

"What happened? I feel like I was run over." He tried to lift his hand to rub his eyes, but grunted and let his arm relax.

"That's because you were, ya damn drunk. You ran into the middle of the street and got hit by a horse and cart, the doctor says that if you survive the night, you'll have a better chance at living through this but..." I couldn't make myself finish.

"But, I have more of a chance of dying tonight, am I right?" I nodded my head.

"How can you be so calm about this?"

"How can you?" He shot back.

"Because I'm dying too!" We looked at each other, neither knowing what to say at that point.

"What's wrong with you? I mean, you look fine, but why are you dying? Are you sick?" I wiped the tears out of my eyes.

"Yeah." I knew we might not have much time left so I decided to tell him everything, where I was from, who I was, everything I knew. "There's a lot you don't know Blaise and I'm sorry for not telling you before, but I wasn't, I don't..." I let out a burst of air, not knowing what to say. "I didn't really know how to bring it up. Or talk about it." I looked around the small room for inspiration. "First I should tell you your parents were here." Blaise groaned.

"I bet they just come here to make sure I was dead, they don't really care about me." Blaise looked even more pained than when he woke up.

"Well you dad was a total asshole, but you mom looked really upset, she even yelled at your father." Blaise looked like he was at a loss for words so I decided to trudge on. "Blaise, you know I'm not normal, it's because I'm from the future." He looked at me like I was crazy. "It's true, look." I pulled my phone out of my dress pocket.

"What the hell is that?" I pressed the button to turn it on and it lit up, making the 'turning on' noise.

"My phone, it's portable so I can take it with me wherever, it makes it so I can talk to people, even when they're not in the same room as me." He looked like he kind of understood, but at the same time didn't. "It does a ton of stuff, like call people, make calculations and take pictures."

"So, there's a tiny camera in there?" Blaise, distracted from his pain, looked at my phone with the most disbelieving eyes imaginable.

"Yeah, want to take a picture with me?" He grinned and suddenly it was like he wasn't close to death at all. It was like it was before, when we hung out together with Henri and I had hidden singing lessons with Erik. Suddenly it looked like he was going to live.

"Wouldn't you like to catch this gorgeous face and immortalize it?" He snarked at me.

"I don't think you're that hot; in a hot contest I'm sure I'd win." I tossed my hair and placed my head next to his on the pillow.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," he said. I let the matter drop as I clicked the camera on my phone.

"Smile." We took about twenty photos of us smiling and laughing into the camera, making faces and bunny ears. "Blaise, I love you."

"Love you too, Dee." Blaise had his hands folded behind his head, he looked tired. "You still need to tell me everything. If you're from the future how did you get here?"

"I have no idea, I was on a stage singing because I felt like it and then I was on stage at the Opera Populaire. Blaise where I'm from, this world is a play, it's not real to anyone; it even has a writer! I don't know how this happened; maybe Andrew Lloyd Webber worked so hard on this that it became real or something, maybe it was always here and Webber is some kind of seer of worlds." I threw my head down onto the pillows beside him, I'd confused myself.

"I have _no_ idea what you're talking about, other than the fact that you're telling me I'm _not real_." He lifted his eyebrows for emphasis since his arms hurt.

"Well, you're pretty fuckin' real now, aren't you?" I said, poking him in the face; he rolled his head away from my finger. "That's not even the craziest thing."

"Tell me." Blaise had a familiar mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I've been talking to the Phantom of the Opera." Blaise formed a small 'o' with his mouth.

"No. Way."

"Yes. Way. I already knew about him and when I appeared on stage, he heard me singing and he wanted to teach me. I didn't know what was going on and ran outside; I opened the door, looked out and saw where I was and passed out, guess who caught me and brought me to Madame Giry?" Blaise looked baffled.

"The Phantom? You've been gallivanting with the _Phantom_? And you didn't tell _me_?" Figures he'd be more offended that I didn't tell him than scared.

"Yeah, his name is Erik; he's a nice guy sometimes, when he's not being a complete ass."

"He beat you!" Blaise yelled.

"Yeah, but I guess you have to know how fucked up he is to forgive him."

"How fucked up could he be to get you to forgive him?" I told Blaise Erik's story, how his parents sold him to gypsies, how they beat him, how he was paraded around as a freak for his deformity, how people laughed at him, how he was able to escape by killing his keeper, thanks to Madame Giry. I told him that no one had shown love to him all his life for something so small and insignificant as a face.

"Oh my God. Is his deformity really that bad? No one has ever seen him."

"No, it's only a small spot on his face; sure it's really creepy to see it for the first time, but it's not that bad." Blaise laughed under his breath.

"Looks like Buquet was wrong, living corpse? I think not. Well, besides the face, is he hot?"

"Yes, he is so hot, I could grind myself into climax on his sexy, sexy shoulders." Blaise laughed hard, the grunted in pain. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, I just need some water, that's all." I got the cup of water on his nightstand and helped him put it to his lips. "So, tell me the rest, what else is there?" I let a few tears come to my eyes but I blinked them away before they could fall.

"Blaise, I'm not going to live much longer." I told him the story about my father and me and how I almost died, and how I'm going to die.

"Wow, your families make mine look like saints in comparison, I'm sorry Dee." I rubbed my eyes, not caring if I smudged my mascara and eyeliner.

"Bro, that isn't even it. I know how this is going to end. That stage I was on the transported me here? I went there to see the _Phantom of the Opera_, one of the most well-known musical in the world. You know how you said Buquet was wrong earlier? Well, he isn't; the first story of Erik's was a book written in 1910 and he was described as a living corpse; hell, he been described in a plethora of forms, from a corpse to a normal guy raised by telepathic rats." Blaise looked revolted.

"_Rats_?" He spat the word, like it was something horrible.

"Yeah, it's a long and stupid story, nothing you would enjoy; I hated it, worst half hour of my life." I pushed away the talk of the crappy 1998 remake.

"You know what? I'm going to take your word for it." He lifted his hands and acted as if he was pushing it out of his mind.

"Back on the main topic; I think I'm going to go crazy if I don't say this: I know the story's end and Erik is going to try to kidnap Christine and force her to marry him when he forces the managers to put on his play _Don Juan Triumphant_ after the christmas ball. It won't succeed and Erik will let her go with Raoul, they'll have a kid or two, I don't know that part, and Erik will live the rest of his life in misery." I threw my head in my hands. "I don't know what to do. Erik's an ass, but he doesn't deserve this."

"That's some heavy shit, right there. You're right, this is hard, I don't know how you could have kept this to yourself until now, why are you telling me?"

"Because I trust you more than anyone else; besides, you're not really mentioned in the movie." He rolled his eyes and I stuck my tongue out.

"So, is the Phantom good to you?"

"You're talking like he's my new boyfriend and you're my overprotective father trying to make sure your daughter is going on the right path. But yes, he's very nice to me most of the time and it helps that he's pretty easy on the eyes." Blaise groaned.

"When I'm out of here, you're taking me to see his sexy shoulders, no matter what."

"Yeah, I promise." I was happy that Blaise could be so positive about this.

"But on the off-chance I do die," I tried, but failed, to meet his eyes, "I want you to promise me that you won't grieve for me for a long time, I don't want my death to get you kicked out of the opera house, you're too good for that." I let the tears fall out of my eyes then.

"Blaise, I've lost so many people, how can I lose you too?" I could tell he wanted to ask me who, but he also didn't want to hurt me more. "There's something else that I haven't told you, something that Meg, Christine, Erik and Madame Giry already know. Blaise, I'm dying." I told him the entire story I had told Erik before.

"Dee, that's horrible." We held hands, trying to ease each others pain.

"It's not as bad as you think, I'm not afraid to die anymore and that's a gift to someone like me." I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled at him. "If you die, you'll surely be brought back in a better time to be gay, maybe there'll be some overlap and we can be together again." I held his hand to my cheek and kissed it. "Just remember to sat away from my men." Blaise laughed, clutching his stomach.

"I'll make no promises." We laughed until Blaise's head fell back on his pillow. "Damn, I'm tired." I rested my head next to his.

"So am I. You still drunk?"

"Not really. Hey, Dee?" I rolled my head to look him in the eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Will you tell that ass Henri I love him for me? I'm not gonna be out of here in time to see him off." I felt my heart squeeze.

"Sure I will, then he'll come down here and give you a kiss and be your prince charming." Blaise scoffed.

"He damn well better, I'm wasting all this pretty on a _hospital_." I giggled.

"I love you Bee."

"Love you too, Dee." The lack of sleep helped us pass out quick.

My head shot up and I opened my eyes and turned to the door, just in time to see a blond man in a long black coat and top hat leave. He must be the priest; I turned to wake Blaise up so the priest could give him his last rites but Blaise didn't respond to me shaking his shoulder.

"Blaise? Blaise?" I rested my head atop his breast and waited for his heart beat. It never came. "Blaise." I pressed my head face down on his chest and cried. Blaise, my Blaise, was dead. "Doctor! Nurse! Come quick!" The nurse came running into the room and stopped abruptly at the sight of my tear-stained face.

"Is he gone?" I nodded. She came over and pulled the sheet up to cover his face.

"No! Please. I just want to see his face for a little while." She righted the sheet and stepped back, taking in my grief.

"Was he your husband?" I laughed a bit.

"Do you hear that Blaise? She thinks we're married." I squeezed his hand, which I had been holding since we fell asleep. "If only I were so lucky. No, he was my best friend; can you call the Madame and Monsieur from before and tell them that their son is dead? Also, can you go to the Opera Populaire and get a Henri Bernarde and tell him Blaise has had an accident?" She nodded and walked out of the room. I spent the time we were alone to talk to Blaise, I told him about my friends from home, how they would have loved him and how much I was going to miss him. I heard running and shut up as the door burst open. Blaise's parents stood in the doorway.

"My baby." His mother whispered as she collapsed on the other side of the bed and took his hand, tears leaked out of her eyes. Blaise's father stood stoically at the foot of the bed, not saying a word. "My baby, my baby." She kissed his face over and over, leaving tears streaking down Blaise's cheeks.

"Are you happy now, Mr. Dion?" His eyes flashed and burned into the side of my head.

"I beg your pardon?" He spat.

"I said, 'are you happy now?'. You got what you wanted, Blaise completely out of your life. I'm sorry you didn't know him how I knew him." Blaise's father was red in the face.

"He did this to himself." He shot at me.

"You kicked him out. He found a job and friends that loved him, it made him a better person so you went to the opera to continually show what he had lost, his family, the people who are supposed to love him no matter what. You saw that you were losing because he still loved you, both of you." An insult directed at him caught in my throat when I looked in his eyes; suddenly I had to bite back tears. "You're sorry, aren't you?"

"What?!"

"You're sorry! You wanted him to grow a backbone, realize what he was doing was 'wrong' and come home! You loved him so much but you couldn't accept that he was gay so you kicked him out and every time you went to the opera, you hoped that seeing you would make him want to come home! You both are so stubborn and look where it got you! Blaise is dead and both of you are in pain. I hope you know that for the rest of your lives there will be a piece of your heart missing where it was viciously torn out by your own stubbornness today." I noticed his hands were clenched into tight fists and when I looked back up to his face Jean-Pierre had his head bowed as a tear slipped down his cheek.

"His funeral will be in three days. I don't want your money for it, but feel free to come and bring anyone else that loved Blaise too." Jean-Pierre pulled his wife up and helped her walk out of the room. I turned back to Blaise and ran the hand that wasn't already holding his down his cheek. It was cold. I rested my head on the side of the bed and sobbed and sobbed. I wish he was still with me. "_Wishing you were somehow here again._" I heard the door open again and whoever it was come to a full stop.

"Danielle?" I turned to see Henri, clothes haphazardly thrown on. "Is Blaise...?"

"He's gone." Henri sat next to me and gave me a one-armed hug since my hand was still holding Blaise's. Tears welled in Henri's eyes.

"I'm going to miss him so much." Henri rubbed his eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming.

"Me too." I looked at Henri, he looked at me. "He loved you, you know. Loved you as more than a friend." Henri turned to look at Blaise's body. Slowly he leaned over and kissed his pale lips, causing his tears to settle into the subtle groove between Blaise's lips.

"I loved Blaise as a friend. I loved him a lot. If I were like him, I know I would have loved him back." I smiled.

"I'm sure you would have." I let out a laugh that turned into a sob. "He would be freaking out right now."

"Yeah, in his adorable way of freaking out." We shared a hearty laugh. "I'm going to miss the way his cheeks would turn red."

"Me too." As the sun began to rise I wiped my tears away. "But he wouldn't want us to be sad, he'd want us to smile at the promise of a new day." I finally let go of Blaise's hand and placed them, one atop the other, on his stomach.

I got up and, with Henri's help, opened the window on the other side of the room, watching the brilliant pinks and oranges and yellows and blues brought by the rising sun. The cool morning air swirled in the room and brushed my cheek, gentle as a kiss. Looking up at Henri I knew he felt it too. I blew a kiss at the rising sun, saying goodbye to Blaise's soul as it swelled around us once more and flew out the window.

**Yes, Blaise is dead, just remember that everything happens for a reason. I'm dedicating this to everyone that you love that has died. Think of them after you read this and please remember them. Everyone belongs to themselves and all that, review.**


	22. Chapter 22

I sat next to Henri and wondered what I should do next. How do I Plan for a funeral? What arrangements need to be made? I looked to Henri, praying he had some answers.

"What now?" The question hung in the air. Where do go from here? Our best friend was dead and we had to plan his funeral, I wasn't worried about the cost, I was making enough money to pay for it, but who did I talk to?

"We should talk to the doctor, he'll know what to do." I nodded numbly, not getting up; I had to perform today, didn't I? Everyone must be wondering where I am and why Henri was called to the hospital. I slowly got up, trying to remember how to walk, and went to the door.

"Will you stay here while I get the doctor?" Henri nodded mutely, I don't think he felt up to talking much yet. I left the room and walked to the nurse station. "Excuse me, I was wondering what to do now." The on duty nurse looked confused. "My friend is the one who died up in room 219, how do I prepare a funeral? Where do I get the coffin and plot?" Her eyebrows puckered, making a look of pity form on her face. I heard the door open and someone walk in but paid them no mind. What in God's name do I do now?" I covered my face with my hands resting my elbows on the counter.

"Are you alright my child?" Someone put their hand on my shoulder I shook it off; anger, anger was good, it was familiar, and I knew how to feel it.

"Alright? Alright? I'm standing at a nursing station asking about how to plan my best friends funeral, can't you think of something better to say, like, 'is there something I can do to help you?', there isn't, by the way." I turned back to the nurse. "Can you please tell me what to do?" The nurse was in a shocked silence, not knowing what to do.

"Please Miss, I might be able to help you." I turned back to the man I had almost yelled at. It was a priest, a young one at that, looking a little flustered in his black robes and clutching a bible for dear life. Shit, I'd just yelled at a priest.

"How?" What good would a priest do? All they ever did was marry people and give sermons that I'd never never listened to.

"I'd like to see the body of your friend, if you don't mind to deliver his last rites and absolve his soul." I can't stand overly religious people, if he found out Blaise was gay, he'd demand his body be burned or something.

"He's already gone, I felt his soul leave." I turned back to go find a doctor to help me. "Besides, a priest already came last night, I saw him walk out of the room."

"I'm the only priest in this area and I was gone all night, who was he?" I stopped and turned around.

"Just some guy, blond hair, black coat and top hat." The priest looked confused.

"No priest I know looks like that, are you sure it was one?" So, some random guy was just in Blaise's room last night as he died?

"No, but who should I have known? I only woke up as he was leaving, I never saw his face." The priest looked a bit worried. "He must have been some guy going to visit someone in his family and walked into the wrong room." I walked away, tired of dealing with a 'servant of God'. I asked for the doctor that had attended to Blaise. "Doctor, I was wondering what I should do now? How do I prepare a funeral?"

"Don't worry, we will keep him here for a few days in the morgue, we will get someone to prepare him for the funeral. You can go to a coffin shop down the street, they can help you with the necessary funeral arrangements. I'm sure there is a church near the Opera, St. Lucian's, that you can buy a plot in." The doctor must mean the cemetery where Christine's father was buried.

"How far away is it?" The morgue. Blaise was going to be put in the morgue. My Blaise.

"Only about a forty five minutes through the woods south of it." My Blaise was going to be put in a box in the ground.

"I want to do something special for him, I don't want him to just rest and be forgotten. Is there some way to get a statue for his grave?" I wanted to have a statue of him, so that for years to come people could see who he was.

"Yes, but it would take at least a month for them to finish it." I felt my heart sink. A month? I needed a gravestone in _three days_.

"Thanks anyway." I walked back to where Henri waited for me. I thought about my first time meeting Blaise that day before I'd really met Erik, how he had smiled, how well we got along with each other. As I stood outside the door, I could hear voices from inside; I opened the door to find the priest from earlier at the foot of the bed with his head bowed. I paused in the door frame.

"Danielle, Father Oliver-Clément has come to say a few words for Blaise." God, why didn't he just disappear?

"Blaise has never gone to church one Sunday in all the months I've known him, what makes you think he was a christian?" The bitch in me was coming out, any aversion that I'd had to being rude to a priest drained away. The priest, Oliver-Clément, looked affronted and embarrassed.

"Both his parents and siblings come to my sermons regularly." He gave his bible a squeeze. I felt an evil smile spread across my face.

"Didn't you wonder why he never came with his family? They shunned him, disowned him and pushed him into a world that he didn't know without so much as a franc to his name. Do you want me to believe that somewhere there is a God watching us all suffer? I abhor the illusion of the 'all mighty' and Blaise saw it too; that, if there was a God, why would he sit by and watch people suffer?" The outraged flush in his cheeks reached his hairline.

"How dare you-"

"No, how dare you? You come into this room, peddling your religion like a product and expect me to fall to the feet of a God that watched people die, and kill, in his name? Look over your bible stories and call me when you see the people suffer as I do, when you hear the children scream as the soldiers of 'Christianity' rape them and kill their family. How could I ever believe in a God like that?" I was really pissing him off. Good. He can go shove religion down someone else's throat.

"I know you are only trying to hurt me because you yourself are hurting, more than I could ever imagine." He turned to leave. "When you are feeling less manic please come to see me about your friends burial." As he reached the door I called for him to wait. He turned to me expectantly.

"Blaise was a man who didn't like women, he never was attracted to the delicacies of a female body; he was in love with a man. That's why his parents disowned him." The priest looked like he was trying to process this. "Since his parents kicked him out he worked at the Opera, where he met the man he would later fall in love with, where he met me, where his heart would be broken. If his parents hadn't believed so strongly that being... like he was not what God wanted he would still be alive. Sure, I wouldn't get the pleasure of knowing him but he would be alive." I let my tears leak out of my eyes until I was having a hard time speaking. "How can I believe in a God that let Blaise die? He is... was the most wonderful, kind, witty person I have ever known. He was my best friend." I looked back at the priest then, expecting him to abhor the fact that Blaise was gay. "Will you condemn him now?" I held my back straight and looked him in the eye. He looked away first.

"It is written in the bible that no man shall ever lay with another man." I scoffed.

"It is also written that we shall not eat shellfish or touch the skin of a dead pig, but I'm pretty sure that isn't followed." I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Well, it has been proven that it was only recorded because people didn't know how to properly cook it and became sick."

"Yes, but it's in the bible, so you should follow it, right?" I rested my hands on my hips. "If you stripped the meat from my body and looked at my bones, what's the difference? They will be just as white and shapely as yours." I walked up to him. "Who are you to judge who people love? Love is love, gender doesn't matter." I walked back to the bed where Blaise lay. "I will talk to you tomorrow about his funeral and burial. If you still want him in your cemetery." I heard the door open and close, signaling the departure of the "Servant of God".

"He might not let Blaise be buried there now," Henri said. He had stayed quiet the entire time I'd been arguing with the good 'father'.

"Then we'll have him burned and I'll carry his ashes around."

"Are you saying that just to shock me?" Henri teased, smiling.

"Maybe." We laughed, but the laughter quickly turned into tears. I collapsed on the chair next to the bed. "Blaise, your lips are blue." I let my tears fall onto his face like rain on pavement. Blaise was starting to look like a corpse. "Blaise you're so cold." I cried for a few more minutes, Henri rubbed circles into my shoulders. There was a knock at the door and the doctor came in.

"Have you said your goodbyes? We are ready to take him to the morgue." I looked up at Henri who was looking down at me. I nodded silently and the doctor called a few nurses into the room; they put him on a stretcher and took him away. We sat in silence for a minute before Henri began to speak.

"We should get back to the Opera, everyone must be worried about us now." Henri helped me up and walked me out the door. I looked back to the room where Blaise died before Henri closed it and turned us away.

Back at the Opera everyone was buzzing around, talking about various rumors; that I had run away with Blaise and Henri, upon receiving word, went to fight for me. That Blaise and I had been kidnapped and stolen away from the Opera in the middle of the night. That the Phantom and killed both Blaise and I and Henri had gone for revenge. Everyone stood still and solemn as we gathered them together and told them the news. The stage hands took off their hats and held them over their hearts, some of the ballerinas covered their mouths with their hands and everyone that knew Blaise shed a tear.

Everyone began to get dressed and prepare for the next performance, trying to act like nothing was the matter.

"Danielle, I'm so sorry." I looked up and saw Christine and Meg standing in front of me. I knew they meant the best, they were even tearing up, but I felt a little hollow. Tomorrow I needed to buy a coffin, arrange for a few bouquets to be delivered to a cemetery where I had to find a plot of land to bury my best friend. Not to mention I had to give Blaise a simple headstone.

"Thank you guys, I just can't believe that we are still doing the show. Well, not really; the show must go on, I suppose, no matter what happens." They hugged me.

"If you need anything, please tell us," Meg said, looking at me with so much pity it hurt to meet her eyes. I tried to smile.

"Thanks, I just need some time to be by myself, gather my thoughts. I'm planning the funeral with Henri, it's going to be in three days, so I'll have something to occupy my mind for awhile at least." I took a deep breath to calm myself; there was still three hours to the show. "I think I'll go for a walk around the Opera for a bit before the show." This time they didn't object, just nodded and let me walk away.

I walked to the secret passage to Erik's home and stumbled over some stones, half blinded by the tears I allowed to fall. I walked until I finally saw the light of the candles Erik kept in his home, then I ran.

"Erik!" I called to him, I needed someone, someone I could tell anything. I ran into the doorway to his home and spotted him just getting up from his organ, a look of concern on his face. I stood there, breathing hard from my short run. I could feel a prominent frown tugging at my lips, pulling them into an upside down smile. "Erik." I held my arms out to him like a small child. He rushed over to me and I collapsed into his arms, crying again.

"Danielle, what happened? Who did this to you?" He lifted me up and carried me to the bench and sat me down, kneeling in front of me. He rubbed his hands up and down on my arms, as if to fight a chill. I lifted my hands to my eyes and hid behind them. "What's wrong?" I wrapped my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. Erik tensed for a moment before he stood, picked me up and sat me on his lap, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close to his chest. It took me by surprise a bit, until I remembered I'd asked him to hold me when I was sad.

"Blaise, Blaise was hit by a cart last night. He- he died." I let Erik's shirt soak my tears up, not caring that I would look like a complete mess. I moved my arms from around his neck to around his chest, so it wouldn't be such an awkward hug. I relayed what had happened last night, omitting the reason we were out, sometimes sounding too garbled from the tears to make sense. I told Erik everything up to the point of Blaise's death before I stopped talking, not wanting to relive it anymore. "I said I was going to plan his funeral, but I don't know what to do, I can't even get a nice headstone for him."

"What did you want to do?" Erik rubbed circles into my back, trying to calm me down; all this physical contact must be killing him.

"I wanted to get a statue of him made, not life-sized, but not a figurine; they said it would take a month to make and I want everyone to see it when they come for the funeral in three days." I held Erik tight, not wanting to lose him as my rock.

"I'll do that for you." I looked up at Erik, disbelieving.

"How?"

"I think myself a good enough sculptor to create this." He used his shirt sleeve to wipe my eyes, frowning when they came back with a small black stain.

"Why would you do this? You never seemed to like Blaise much." I wiped my own eyes, not worried about the black left on my fingers.

"He always looked like he was keeping a secret," Erik said. I laughed, in awe that Erik could pick up on that.

"He did have a secret," I couldn't see the harm in telling Erik now, "Blaise was gay. He liked men, that's why I kept telling you he was never attracted to me." The look of shock on the great Opera Ghost's face was wonderful; if only Blaise was here to see this.

"That's why you always acted like that with him, because you were joking." Erik finally put the pieces together.

"Yeah, now do you realize there was no reason to get so jealous?" Teasing, teasing was good. Erik lifted his head proudly.

"I was never jealous."

"You were _so_ jealous." I kissed his exposed cheek, took off his mask, and kissed the other. "But it was very flattering." Erik harrumphed. "Don't be so high and mighty, I might have no experience with men whatsoever, but I do know jealousy."

"How can you say that when every man in the Opera is pawing at you dresses hem?"

"You too?" I joked.

"I'm under it, it doesn't count."

"Well, where I'm from everyone knows my story, so boys would stay away from me, maybe a few were my friends but none of them wanted to date me." I shrugged; it didn't matter, the boys at my school were either ugly or arrogant from being one of the only attractive few. "It's not like I tried to hide it," I said, indicating to my scar, "I wore bikinis, short tops and belly shirts with the rest of them."

"You are an enigma," Erik said as he shook his head.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked, smiling a real smile for the first time in a while.

"For you, I suppose so." I smiled wider, thankful that the pain was going away.

"I told him about you." I admitted; Erik's eyes bulged a bit, but he quickly regained his composure.

"What did you tell him?" Erik's eyes were locked on mine, I guess he was hoping I hadn't told him about his past.

"Everything."

"All of it? My life, my past?" His voice was a bit strained.

"Yes. I told him about the future, my life, what's going to happen, everything." I looked out into the lake, not really focusing on anything.

"Didn't you think I'd object?"

"What do you care now, he's dead." It still hurt to say that.

"You should go now; you have performance to do and I have to sculpt Blaise in stone." I pouted.

"You don't want me here?"

"You need to work and so do I."

"How are you going to finish a sculpture in three days?" I was astounded that he could even think of doing that.

"I have my ways, now go." I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on to my elbows.

"Carry me," I said.

"Don't be spoilt." Erik huffed, angry I'd asked him to carry me around.

"Please?" Erik sighed and threw me over his shoulder, easily lifted my arms from his neck. "This is really uncomfortable." I called as he began to walk to the exit.

"You said 'carry', no 'comfortably' was at the end of that sentence." I blew a raspberry and stayed quiet for the rest of the trip up. "This is where you get off." I slid down to the ground and looked up; Erik's white mask gleamed in the dark, making him look like a real ghost.

"Thanks, Erik."

"Think nothing of it." He melded in with the dark and was gone. I snuck back to the populated areas and went to get my makeup done. After the show I'd go buy a coffin.

ERIK

I couldn't believe I'd promised to create a small monument to honor a man in less than three days, was I mad? But, Danielle has seemed to sad and... I guess it was the least I could do after misjudging him for so long, he had only been her friend, her dearest friend.

I sighed, already feeling the aching muscles that were to come with such hard work. I looked through my stacks of music and blank sheets for my chisel and hammer, making a mental list of what I was going to immediately need for my newest project.

DANIELLE

It had been two days since Blaise had died and I was just going to see about his plot. Great. Why had I put this off so long? Of course, because I wised off to the priest and was embarrassed to speak to him again. Regardless, I had to do it; I needed Blaise's grave to be as close to me as possible. I caught a coach and walked up the steps to the small church next to a gothic glory cemetery. I looked around, trying to find the priest's office.

"Good evening Madame, can I help you?" I turned and saw Father... whatever, I'd never learned his name.

"Do you have any plots for sale?" I didn't want to stay here too long, churches made me antsy.

"I do believe we have a few, were you looking for somewhere specific?" I looked at the hand that clutched the same bible as before.

"Somewhere easy to find, where people will see it and admire it." The Father shook his head.

"That is vanity." He lightly scolded. I scoffed.

"What's the fun in life if there wasn't a little sin? I know you'd be out of a job." He looked a little pained before he got it was a joke.

"Hardly, who else would preach the word of God?" Wow, was I joking around with a priest? Was I in the matrix?

"The nutters in the street." I held out my hand. "Danielle BellRose, how do you do?" He took my hand in his.

"Oliver-Clément Le Mans, Father of this little church, good to meet you." God, his name was a mouthful. "Would you like to see the plots available, I'm sure it won't take long." I nodded.

"I'll follow you, Father Le Mans." He smiled and led me to the door.

"Since I expect to never see you in church please, call me Oliver." I shrugged again.

"Whatever you say, Father Ollie." I heard him smother a laugh and I smirked. We spent half an hour walking around the cemetery looking at plots and comparing them.

"I'm sorry if it displeases you to walk through a cemetery on a day like this." I looked at the blue sky, screwing my eyes together and looking around the graveyard.

"It's not so bad."

"Aren't you worried the ghosts will get you?" I looked at him, unimpressed with his childishness. "Please excuse me, most of the young women coming to the cemetery always shiver about ghosts." I rolled my eyes up and down.

"I'm not most young women. Besides, who would think a ghost would haunt a graveyard? Where's the fun in that? Wouldn't it make more sense to haunt the place you died, or the place you have the most connection to?" Father Le Mans looked at me funny. "I mean, that's what makes the most sense to me."

"Yes, that does sound about right, why would the dead stay with their graves when they can be somewhere happier?" He fiddled with the bible in his hand. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to bore you with talk of a place you don't believe exists."

"Hey, if there isn't a heaven, I'm going to feel pretty cheated." I joked.

"Well now, what do you believe?"

"Whatever I want." We came to a stop in front of a plot in an area that looked vaguely familiar. I looked around to see a large mausoleum only one spot up. "Whose is that mausoleum up there?" I tried, and failed to read the name atop, the sun was shining right in my eyes.

"That's the Daae mausoleum, the resting place of Gustave Daae, the famous violinist." Christine's father. I looked back to the plot.

"I think I'll take this one." Without a word Father Le Mans led me back to his office and we began to negotiate the price.

It was the night before the funeral and I decided to check on Erik, I was worried that he wasn't getting enough to eat or sleep.

"Erik? Are you here?" I looked around the corner and saw a very tired looking Phantom with a small smile on his face. "Are you feeling okay?" Erik hardly ever smiled, well, unless he killed someone.

"I'm fine and your monument is almost done, all I need is the inscription." I let my mouth fall open. He had done it. He had built a statue in three days, how could I have ever doubted him?

"Let's see it." He led me to a mass covered in cloth and pulled it away.

The likeness was so perfect at first I thought Blaise was sitting there in front of me. I rested my hands against the face of the statute, it looked exactly like him. I was expecting it to be warm and alive, but it was cold and hard like the stone it was. I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. Blaise was sitting, in what was clearly an angelic robe, belted at the waist that ended around his ankles. His legs were crossed at his knees, making it look like his robe was fluttering in an invisible breeze, hanging off the side of the platform and his left arm rested horizontally below the elbow of his right arm which held up his head. A teasing smile lit his face, just the way it used to. The most amazing feature was the intricately sculpted stone grey wings that lifted from his back so beautifully it hurt to look at them.

"All we need to do is add an inscription." Erik spoke gently from behind me, letting me have my small breakdown moment. God, what do I say? What could I put that would honor him the was he deserves?

"It... it should say 'In loving memory of Blaise Dion, May 17, 1853-September 3, 1872. Beloved son, friend, progressivist. Then there should be this poem:

_The sun sets again,_

_It's fiery glory extinguished._

_The deep blue ocean of the sky takes over,_

_Seeming to swallow it's gay colors._

_The gold and yellow and pink and blue are gone_

_They seem to never come back,_

_Seem like they never existed at all_

_But, before the tears fall,_

_Remember the Dawn will always come._" I shut out the nagging that the poem wasn't good, after all, it was made up on the spot but I knew it was right.

"That sounds beautiful, I'll have this delivered before the funeral, it will be there when you arrive." This time I didn't question how Erik would do this, how Erik could get it there; Erik was powerful enough to get this done. I stepped back from the stone angel with the impish smile and turned to leave, time for another show to begin.

**Another sad chapter, I promise something good is going to happen soon! The poem belongs to me along with all my OCs, Erik, Christine, Meg and all the others belong to Leroux, Webber and their image holders. Review!**


	23. Chapter 23

It was overcast the day we went to bury Blaise. The church was fuller than I had expected it to be. All of the regulars from the bar, Fantasia, that Blaise and I usually went to were there, it was almost a funny sight, seeing all those effeminate men in bright colors dabbing their eyes delicately with soft cotton handkerchiefs and whimpering. I knew Blaise would get a kick out of this, especially seeing me in a church outfitted in a black dress.

The sermon was boring. Blaise would've been asleep by now, I can almost hear him yelling at the good Father to hurry it up. I was a bit anxious about what people were going to think of the statue and inscription. I sat in the front pew with Henri, Meg and Christine; Blaise's parents sat in the back with a few other people I guess they brought. I hadn't paid much attention to them, I was focused on the mahogany coffin in front of the podium covered in flowers. Blaise was in there. The whole thing reminded me of that Michael Jackson song Gone Too Soon. _Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight, here one day, gone one night..._ I could choke on my tears.

"Now let us close with a hymn." Father Ollie shut his bible and directed us in the song I didn't know; I kept my mouth shut, I didn't feel like singing anyway. It felt like my voice had been pulled from my throat. I stood with them and kept my eyes glued to the casket. I'd asked some stage hands to be pallbearers with me and Henri, I don't think the others in the church will like it when they see me hefting the coffin with the men. I pulled on the white elbow length gloves and made my way over to the coffin, earning myself some strange looks. The others and I lifted the coffin onto our shoulders and walked out of the church and down to the open grave a bit away.

I would guess that the coffin was heavy, it did contain my best friend and in general is a heavy object, but I hardly felt it; all I could think was that my best friend was dead and I was carrying his coffin to his grave. What a cold shot of ice in my veins. I wish Erik was here, I trusted him only second to Blaise, but I knew he couldn't be there. Damn the Phantom of the Opera infamy!

We rested the coffin on the straps that would lower it into the ground and stepped back. Henri put his arm around my shoulders and rubbed my arms. I could hardly feel the warmth, what little was given to me dissolved into the ground. I could feel my stomach clenching and unclenching like a fist. What happens after death? Is there a heaven? If there is, why do we have no proof? Religion wasn't worth shit and here I was begging the powers that be for there to be a God. Let Blaise have something to laugh about. God, I could hardly remember what his laugh sounded like anymore.

Whatever Father Ollie was saying was finished, I could hear the leather bible he carried everywhere close with a dull thump. For a minute I thought that he was closing the book of Blaise's life. I looked up, ready to beg him to open it again, before I realized I was being ridiculous. I looked around at the small congregation, looked at all the faces, only seeing blurs. The funeral workers lowered the casket into the ground and rounds of 'I'm very sorry for your loss' were given to the family and close friends. I ignored everyone and sat next to the statue. What did Blaise see now? The inside of a wooden box? Clouds as far as the eye can see? Nothing? I rested my forehead on my hand and looked down. I want to be home.

"Excuse me, you are Danielle, right?" I looked up into the face of a boy who looked so much like Blaise; I could feel my heart clench.

"Yes." I didn't feel like talking, not to him, not now.

"My name is Louis, Blaise was my brother." I looked up at him, clean cut and never knowing of true hardship a day in his life; he lacked the spark Blaise had of making his own career, his own way of life.

"You look like him." But you aren't him, I finished in my head. He ducked his head, not showing me his eyes.

"People tell me that."

"Do you not like it?" I reached out and pulled his head up. "Don't duck your head like that, it's sickening." He looked at me, surprise coloring his entire body. "Don't duck your head in front of a grave, especially your brothers'. That's more that disrespectful." Maybe he knew why their parents had kicked him out and he hated his brother for being gay. "Do you hate him?"

"No! No, just," he looked around the cemetery, "I don't know. I don't know anything." His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Do you miss him?" I asked. He nodded slowly. "Then you know you miss him, that's something." He let out a small, humorless laugh.

"I wish I knew why, what happened, what could make my parents so mad that they would kick him out." It surprised me that they hadn't told him. I wanted to, but it isn't my secret, it wasn't my life.

"Ask them; just remember that he's your brother and he loved you unconditionally, you should give him the same." I felt a small gust of air against my cheek and had to hold back another sob.

"You know what it is." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I do."

"Why won't you tell me?" I closed my eyes and leaned against the statue.

"It's not my life, it's his." I pointed my thumb at the statue. "Just remember: before you judge him, try hard to love him." I'm sure I made no sense to him whatsoever. Ha, Michael Jackson quotes. I miss his music and since electricity is rudimentary at best my ipod was out of the question. I'd kill for thumping bass right now. Of course, I'd also kill to be home and have Phantom of the Opera be nothing but a story. Fat lotta good killing does. "You should go ask your mama and papa." I felt my eyelids grow heavy, I needed to sleep. Realizing he wasn't going to get anymore out of me he went to where his parents stood and they left together.

"Danielle, people are starting to leave, we should go back to the Opera." I looked up at Christine. She had her whole life ahead of her; yes, she was going to have some trouble with Erik, but he'll let her go and she'll live happily ever after. Unlike Blaise. Unlike me. Henri and Meg stood behind her, not wanting to overwhelm me I guess.

"You go on ahead, I'm going to say here a bit longer." They started to protest, but I turned away from them, not listening. I guess they got the message that I wasn't going to go and they left too. For a minute the entire world seemed quiet, it was blissfully quiet.

"Are you going to be alright?" I looked up at Father Ollie.

"No. Maybe." I took a deep breath of the cool air. "In time." He put a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

"Please come and speak with me whenever you think you have need to." I pulled his hand off my shoulder and brushed my lips to his knuckles.

"Thanks but I'm not into confession. _Forgive me Father I have sinned_..." I mocked my aria in Hannibal. "I don't think you'd like to hear half the things I say." I sent him a sarcastic smile. "I'm not a very good person." He looked at me skeptically.

"I've heard confession from murderers about to be put to death, I don't think anything you say could shock me." How wrong he was. I let his hand go and stood up, brushing off the back of my dress.

"I think I'll go wander around Paris for a bit, I don't really want to go back to the Opera."

"Don't you think that's a bit dangerous?" He again put his hand on my shoulder.

"I do as I want." I pulled my hair out its uncomfortable updo that Christine had put in and shook it out so it hung down my back.

"But it is highly improper to wear your hair like that." Are you fucking kidding me?

"Don't care." I began to walk off when Ollie caught me by the arm.

"You'll be mistaken for a harlot, would your employers want someone with a bad reputation to work at their Opera?" Goddamn it.

"Fine." I parted my hair down the middle and began the task of braiding it. "Hold this." I held up one long braid and began to work on the other half. Soon both sides were braided. I wrapped them both around my head and pinned them down. I now looked like a black milkmaid. Joy.

"That's better." I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever Priest boy." I wiped my eyes. "Later."

"Later?" It was almost funny how puzzled he was by my language.

"I will see you later." I mock curtsied to him. "Good day Father." I walked away without another word. I turned to look at the grave one last time before it was out of sight, Ollie was standing there staring after me, the back of his hand was pressed to his mouth.

I guess I'd been wandering for a while, the sky was growing dark. What had I been doing? Nothing I guess, my feet hurt so I guess I've been walking for a long time. I looked around, the streets had turned shabbier and I could hear water. I must be near the docks. The cold air didn't bother me, it felt nice on my skin; I'd been feeling too hot for a while.

"Well, if it isn't a lovely little girl? What'chu doing here?" I looked up at the annoying voice of a man I didn't know. "Isn't it a bit early for your kind to come out?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." I turned to walk away from him.

"Don't you turn your back to me you tart!" I spun around and faced him.

"Tart? You must be mistaken my good fucker, I'm no tart, I'm an actress who probably makes more money than you in one matinee than you do in one month." I flipped him off and walked away.

"Don't you walk away from me!" He pulled me by the arm and grabbed my shoulders. No matter how much it hurt now, it couldn't match the pain in my heart. He shook me then, rattling my teeth. I heard horse hooves and another man began to yell. One I knew.

"Get your hands off her!" The man was pulled off of me and Raoul pulled me into his arms. "Are you alright?"

"Raoul." What was he doing here? Shouldn't he be on a date with Christine or something? "I can handle myself, what are you doing here?"

"This shipping company is owned by my family and I was just finishing up with the books when I heard a racket down here, what's going on?" The man on the ground pulled himself up and ran at Raoul.

"Look out!" Raoul pushed me away and swung his fist, hitting the guy in the face. The sudden crack of Raoul's knuckles meeting the man's face made me jump. "Bastard!" The man looked unconscious.

"We should call the police." I tugged him away from the unconscious man and went to find some, what were they called, gendarmes?

"What happened, why were you down here?" He spun me to face him, placing both hands on my shoulders. I felt tears pop out of the corners of my eyes and race each other down my face. Raoul looked surprised, looking back I guess he thought he'd done something wrong.

"Blaise died." The corners of his eyes drooped, making him look sad.

"Christine told me. I'm sorry I couldn't come to the funeral." I nodded, wiping my eyes. "We should get you home." He gently lead me to where a coach waited for him. I didn't feel like fighting anymore. "To the Opera please."

"Yeah." The ride home was quiet. Ha, I'd started thinking of this place as home; I guess I'd resigned myself to die. I wonder how much longer I had, the giant bottle of pills was about halfway gone now. I'll be damned if I go counting how many I have left to keep me alive. I looked out of the window at the shimmering lights of Paris' nightlife. Blaise would never see this again. "We buried him today." Raoul put his hand on mine.

"I'm so sorry. You were close friends." I let out a deep sigh, the weight of all that happened dragging me down. "Is there anything I can do?" I rubbed my eyes, not caring that the mascara and eyeliner would make smears.

"No, I'll be fine." I could feel the events of the day finally catching up to me. I felt dizzy, dizzy and tired. I just wanted to crawl in bed and sleep for a month. I didn't want to have to have done this by seventeen, how the hell did I plan a funeral? I don't even know anymore. Raoul put his hand on my shoulder.

"You are not fine, let me help."

"And just what would you do? Raoul you are not my lover, you can't just kiss my pain away." Raoul pulled me to bench next to him and held me close.

"Just because we are not lovers does not mean I cannot kiss it better." He pressed a small kiss to my temple and held me until the carriage stopped in front of the Opera Populaire. I stood stiffly and went for the door. "Let's all go to lunch together tomorrow." I shook my head. "Come on, you know Blaise would not want you give up on life just because he is gone." I licked my lips.

"Nothing like a death to remind you of your own mortality. Blaise won't be too cold in his grave before I join him." Raoul looked either shocked or incredibly sad. "Did you forget? I'm going to die in a few months." Raoul pulled me into a tight hug.

"Is there really nothing we can do? No chance of recovery?" I could feel the sadness sink into our bones.

"No, your technology is too primitive to be of any use, other than killing me quicker. Jesus, why can't I just go to the year 3000 and get surgery, prolly would get better in an hour." Right now, I'd settle with going home with my brothers. I need a milkshake, they always made me feel better. How weird was it that I'd been here for months and I only just started craving a milkshake? "It's going to be okay, it happens to everyone sooner or later. Soon I'll finally be able to stop tangoing with Der Tod and can take me away from here."

"No." I looked up at him and raised my eyebrow.

"I'm tired Raoul, are you going to keep me dancing just so I can be around for a bit longer?" I tweaked his nose. "That's a bit selfish, don't you think?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing." He scowled a bit, I laughed.

"Don't sound like a spoilt little boy, shit happens, both good and bad. Give it a few years and I'm sure it won't hurt as much as it does now." Raoul fell silent, I guessed he finally accepted it but I was wrong.

"Did it ever stop hurting after your father killed your mother?" My stomach clenched.

"No, no it did not," I said quietly. We sat in silence for half a minute before I pulled away. "I'm going home. Thanks for the help." I opened the door and got out, Raoul caught my arm.

"I'll see you for lunch tomorrow."

"Yeah. Lunch tomorrow." He smiled down at me and closed the door, telling the driver to take him home. He was tougher than I expected. That was good, when the time came for him to face his great foe he'll be ready. When he does, not if he does. It was sad that Raoul and Erik would never be friends, they we both fiercely pigheaded. I should go down and thank Erik again for what he did for me and Blaise. I crept into one of the small tunnels that led to his home, making sure I wasn't followed. "Erik? You awake?" Erik looked up from what he was composing, most likely Don Juan.

"Danielle, are you alright? You look a bit peaked." I rubbed the black off of my face and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Erik, thanks for making the monument for Blaise, it was really sweet of you." I went up to him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He hesitantly hugged me back. " Who knew the Phantom of the Opera was a sweetie? Wonder what Gaston Leroux would say."

"Gaston Leroux? My maker, I presume." Ha, he sounded like a vampire from _True Blood_. Need to catch up on that when I get back.

"Yes, he made you famous. And creepy as all hell." The look on his face made me giggle. Funny how being around Erik can make it seem like the world will go on turning.

"Will you explain to me how?" I thought about not telling him, just to see to what lengths he would go to get it out of me, but I couldn't, not after what he'd done for me.

"Well, for one thing, he said your eyes were a glowing yellow, like a cat's." I looked up into his bright blue eyes. Robin's egg blue. "I think he got that wrong." I watched him roll his eyes. "There was also the matter of your age. He said you were around fifty to sixty years old." Erik looked revolted. "Ain't fun, right? Not the worst part, he got your body all wrong."

"Please explain." Erik looked like he was getting ready to cringe. God, if only he knew.

"Well, besides the yellow eyes you also are like a walking skeleton and have a horrible 'Death's head' upon your shoulders. And no nose." Erik looked both sickened and upset. He pulled away from me, we had been hugging the entire time.

"What is a 'Death's head'?" I pulled the braids off of my hair and let them swing at my waist.

"The face of a rotting corpse. Skin yellow and aged, a black bit of nothing where there should be a nose but it seemed it rotted off." There was a fire in Erik's eyes that made him look dangerous. "I'm actually surprised that you're not. Yellow I mean. You don't get sun because you don't go out, like, at all." Erik wasn't very happy with what was going to be written about him.

"That sounds cartoonish." I shrugged.

"Yeah well, no one sees you and the only thing they know is that you've got this," I nudged the mask, "on your face. Since they don't know what's under it they make it up." I lifted the mask a fraction, just enough to see the scarring on his chin. "If they did, all the girls would be getting lost in the tunnels trying to find you." I kissed his chin, the only thing I could reach.

"And that is supposed to mean?" Was he playing dumb?

"That you're a pretty man that brings all the girls to the yard." The best part of that reference was that Erik was never going to understand it.

"I hardly believe that." If only he knew how many fan girls he had. Wait, he'd most likely find it creepy.

"If only you knew what I do," I said in a sing song voice.

"You are not going to tell me, are you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Nope!" I jumped up and kissed his scarred face. "Gotta go, lovely; see you later!" I waved and skipped up the tunnel.

ERIK

I placed my hand over my cheek where she had kissed me. She was never afraid of me, not like Christine. _Christine._ That name made my stomach clench. Danielle would never say such horrible words about me. _So distorted, deformed._ She cares for me, Danielle cares enough to kiss the abhorrent face I lothe. She is my saving grace.

**Another chapter! Sorry I'm taking so long, I got a lot of stuff to do right now, I'll try to update sooner rather than later. I hope you like this chapter. If I take too long with the next one, feel free to annoy me until I update again. Remember to review!**


	24. Chapter 24

The last performances went off without a hitch, it was weird not going out for drinks with Blaise after the shows. I felt a little drawn, like the shows weren't as good as they could be because I wasn't as happy doing them. I missed knowing Blaise was watching from the rafters, watching the actors have mini freak outs when they couldn't find a prop or something. My only consolation was talking to Erik, he knew everything there was to know about me, well, pretty much.

"Danielle, how are you feeling?" I looked up to Erik and shrugged; I've seen better days.

"I just can't believe everyone's acting so normal, someone died and it's like it's nothing. I just... don't know how they do it," I said. I'd been hanging out with Erik after the matinee, I could hardly believe that we had just finished a show without him.

"He was a stagehand, hardly anyone knew him." I scowled up at him, knowing it was true. "And because of me people have become used to not speaking of the deaths of workers." If he was attempting to make me laugh, it wasn't working.

"Oh, you." I sighed, not really up for banter right now.

"I'm not very good at comforting people." Erik was a little sheepish, like I'd expected him to be?

"No, really? I thought you'd have all the most comforting person in the entire world." I rolled my eyes.

"How was your lunch with the vicomte and... and..." He couldn't bring himself to say Christine.

"It was good, kind of awkward, but good." Raoul had come to pick me and Christine up after the matinee show and took us to a restaurant with a very french name, I'm still not very good at reading it. I didn't feel like being out, hell, I didn't feel like doing anything but being a mass of nothing in bed.

"Danielle, how are you feeling?" Raoul took me into his arms and gave me a long hug. I tried to name the emotions raging around in my head.

"Numb. Not good." I still didn't understand why Raoul would try to pull me up so soon after the funeral, it's like I can only have a few days to grieve and then I have to be done with it. I just wanted to be by myself, I don't even know why I was out.

"Getting out will help you feel better, staying in bed all day will make you sick." Christine put what was meant to be a comforting hand on my shoulder, but it didn't make me feel any better, I still felt like wallowing in sorrow and eating copious amounts of chocolate. Was that too much to ask?

"Sure Chrissy, seeing people happy and _alive_ will make me feel better," I said bitterly.

"Stop that, Blaise wouldn't want you to stop living because he has; it's like your spirit has been sucked out of you and that was your shining feature, the thing we loved most about you, the thing Blaise loved most about you. It's disrespectful to let that part die with him." I was shocked that Christine had finally found her courage and said something useful instead of her girly crap. She sounded a bit like me. Christine suddenly flushed and looked down; well, one can hope.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"Ha, you've had a bad influence Chrissy." I smiled, it almost felt weird. "You must be listening to me too much. I'll try, just don't expect anything." Both of them smiled and hugged me, I pushed them away. "Still not in much of a hugging mood." They smiled apologetically before we went into the restaurant for some strange french food and strained conversation followed by gaps of awkward silence.

Christine had left with Raoul after the final show, they were going to his Paris estate to hide from the Phantom, I didn't doubt that he already knew and was letting them go. They wanted me to come with them but I declined, I didn't want to leave Erik alone for the holidays. They had promised to meet me for outings and such and I saw them off, promising I'd visit them at the estate.

"That sounds... uncomfortable to say the least," Erik said.

"You think?" I asked sarcastically. "I don't know, I'm trying to get back up on my feet, act like I want to, but it's hard." I shrugged and took in the whole room around me. "Getting a bit better every day I suppose." For lack of anything else to do I rubbed my arms.

"Come here." I looked up at Erik whose arms were held open for me, waiting for me to crawl into his arms and cry. Before I would be too prideful to do something so pitiful., but not anymore. Yes, I had curled in his lap before, but that was different, no one was dead. Slowly I curled into him, hugging myself to him. He wrapped his arms around me like he was taking care of a baby, rocking me back and forth.

"Thanks Erik." I refused to cry this time, I didn't think I had any tears left in me. I just sat there wallowing in self pity and eating away at Erik's time, time he could spend working on one of his great masterpieces. "I'm sorry." I felt him shift and something feather light press against the top of my head. A kiss?

"You have nothing to be sorry for, you are suffering now and I want to help you like you helped me when I suffer." Erik's arm moved and I immediately missed its warmth. I heard the soft clink on porcelain being laid on wood. I looked up in time to see Erik pull his wig off and toss it on the table next to him. "You and Antoinette are the only ones who have cared enough to stay with me. Even Christine," Erik stopped, trying to compose himself, "she is lost to me."

"Do you still love her?" I asked gently.

"I don't know anymore." I brought my hand up to his scarred cheek.

"You do know she's happy, right?" Erik nodded. "Here's a proverb: If you love something, set it free. If you refuse to let it go then you'll suffer alone." Erik gave me a sharp look. "Well, not that exactly, but pretty much."

"Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?" He asked me sarcastically.

"Do you want me to lie?" Erik scoffed, trying to smother a laugh. Miraculously a smile crept up my cheeks.

"Is that a smile?" I turned away, laughing.

"It can't be, no one's in pain." Erik let out a small laugh.

"Well, we've seemed to make ourselves feel better." I scooted out of his lap and stretched my legs.

"I guess we have." Erik replaced his mask and wig, I guess he was uncomfortable without them, he never spoke about it and I didn't want to bring it up if it did.

"What are you going to do now? there aren't any plays scheduled until after Christmas."

"I don't really know." Erik turned back to his music.

"Maybe you should take a break, you know, from shaking down our moronic managers. Lull them into a false sense of security and then BAM, hit them with your best shot!" Erik looked at me, amusement coloring his eyes. "I mean, we can still hang out, but I'll be practicing with Madame Giry and Meg, they're going to teach me some routines from past shows so I can get used to being en pointe." I smiled proudly.

"Don't forget you still have to clean my box." I groaned.

"After all you've done to me, you should be cleaning your own box!" Erik winced, I guess that was a low blow. "Sorry Darling, that wasn't nice." God, I had to apologize so much to make sure Erik didn't lose his temper and go into one of his rages or kill me.

"No, I suppose it's true; but, if you remember, it is part of your job to keep that box clean, or else you're out on your ear." Was he joking? It was nice he had loosened up.

"Not unless you make a fuss about it, and do you really want all this gone?" I struck a pose, making my ridiculous underdress show as I pulled it up and fluffed my hair up. Erik blushed.

"Stop that, it's childish." He looked away, I rearranged my dress.

"What child does that?" He still refused to look at me. I picked up my skirts and ran at him, jumping on his back and clinging to him like a monkey. "Surprise!" I yelled and kissed his neck. Erik stumbled and tried to pull me off. "Gotta keep on your toes darling, I could totally take you down right now!" Erik snorted and easily pulled me around and held me out, away from his body to demonstrate his strength, and set me down.

"Only in your dreams," he smirked. He stood straight, making the entire foot of height he had on me look all the bigger. I stood taller, trying to make myself look more intimidating. Erik only rolled his eyes. "I thought you knew better than to challenge the Opera Ghost?" I scoffed.

"What could you do to me and live with yourself afterwards?" I playfully punched him in the arm.

"Well..." I pushed him off balance and he laughed. Well shit, it looked like since we were depressed together, we can be happy together. "You should go back, Madame Giry and Meg shall be worried for you."

"Yeah," I turned to walk back up the passage, "see you later Monsieur Opera Ghost." I waved and walked back up to the opera above.

ERIK

I watched Danielle go, after more than a week of utter sorrow Danielle seemed to be on the path to mending. I was relieved, having Danielle so sad didn't seem right; she was meant to be happy and smile. She was beautiful when she smiled; when she was sad, she was beautiful too but that beauty was different, dull, washed out. Memories came to my mind unbidden, of Danielle's smile and her body pressed against mine; hips digging into me, her lips against my neck, soft and warm. No, I refused to think about it.

I tried to keep my mind on what I was playing, but the memories wouldn't stay away. I thought of her swaying hips as she walked away from me, toward the prewritten plot of _Hannibal, _to the people and their mundane lives out into the world that made _sense_. I slammed my fist down onto the keys, making an ungodly noise, but it didn't drown out the thumping of my heart in my ears. I tried to ignore the thumping and compose. I don't know how long I sat there, fingers poised over the keys; this was ridiculous! I stood up and paced along the bank of the lake, I couldn't think of anything other than her. What was wrong with me?

"Erik." I looked over and there she stood. Her hands behind her back, head cocked slightly to the side and smiling.

"Danielle." How had she gotten down here passed me? She held her hand to my mouth, gently keeping it shut.

"Shh." Slowly she pulled her hand away, placing both of them around my neck. I allowed her to pull me down into a soft kiss; I was too shocked to pull away. Slowly her lips left mine and hovered just close enough for me to feel her breath. She grinned up at me before pressing our lips together again. My shock faded enough for me to pull her close and kiss her back. I could feel her lips curve into one of her intoxicating smiles.

Too soon her lips drew away from mine again. I felt my breathing speed up along my heart rate. I gazed down at her sweet lips, now redding from our kisses. I brushed a stray wave from her face; her eyes followed each movement of my hand. Slowly she reached up and pulled the mask and wig away from me. "Danielle."

"I love you." Danielle looked at me in the eyes, professing nothing but love and truth. I dove down and caught her lips with mine, tongues met and clashed in a strange dance. Her small hands pulled my shirt away from my chest until it fung from my arms, wide open for her to run her fingers down. My fingers threaded through my hair as her arms twined behind my neck, holding me in place. I pulled away and pressed kisses down her neck as I reached for the laces of her dress and undid them, letting the fabric puddle around our feet; I pulled at the fabric separating us until she was left in nothing but her corset and bloomers. I reached behind her to pull the laces from that too, her ever encouraging voice in my ears.

I shot awake from the uncomfortable position I had fallen asleep in, my neck and back stiff from my impromptu nap. I stood and shook myself. Where had that come from? The dream replayed in my head and I felt heat flooding like fire through my veins. Was I _fantasizing_ about Danielle? In my dream I held her and she'd begged to be closer. I'd never had dreams like that before, not with Christine or anyone. My skin felt too tight for my body and my stomach quivered, everything was too hot. I pulled at the lose poet's shirt off and dove in the lake, making the chill of the water steal the heat from my body.

DANIELLE

"Now, down." Madame Giry smacked her cane on the ground and I slid easily into the splits. I felt a grin spring to my face and sit there. "Now the sides." She banged her cane again and I slid my legs to either side of me. I smiled again, this in itself counted as an amazing contortion for me. "Very good Danielle, I'm proud of your progress, now you won't have much difficulty dancing with the girls who have been here longer." Meg smiled at me, she'd been helping me all week with stretches.

"Danielle, you're a quick learner; I'm sure you will get it all tomorrow." She helped me up, I still struggled with getting out of that position without help. Madame Giry was a bit put off that I couldn't, but Meg and I thought it was hilarious. "Let's go make dinner." I still thought it was weird how abandoned this place was when the shows were out. There were some male dancers still here, only three, but they usually went out until it was time to lock up. Some of the cleaning staff were still around, though we were the only ones who ate dinner there. When everyone left but us I'd asked Madame Giry why she and Meg didn't go home.

"We would stay with Christine, her entire life is here; sometimes we would bring her along, but she seemed more at ease here, even though our home is within walking distance. We go home most weekends, but we felt bad leaving her here." And that was the end of that.

We changed out of our dance clothes and went into the kitchen. Madame Giry handed me a potato peeler and told me to peel the potatoes for the beef stew. We all worked silently, it wasn't awkward, it was comfortable. With each of us doing something the stew was prepared quickly, all we had to do was cook it. I could feel my stomach beginning to eat itself. I fidgeted in my seat, trying to ease the hunger.

"Stop acting like you haven't eaten all day, it will be read in a few minutes." It was almost weird seeing Madame Giry do something so average, she was such an extraordinary person. After what seemed like an eternity the food was ready. I grabbed a bowl and spoon and dug in; Madame Giry and Meg said grace before they ate, they didn't mind that I didn't, I'd told them I didn't believe in religion and I explained how, in the future, most people didn't either. They had been upset at first but got over it after a few meals, or at least they stopped bringing it up.

"That was really good, thanks for dinner Madame Giry." I helped wash up and stretched.

"I think I fancy a stroll alone," I said. Meg frowned.

"You always go for a walk after we eat and you never want company; what do you do that is so private that you don't let us come?" I looked at Madame Giry, then Meg; surely Madame Giry knew where I was going, but Meg had no idea.

"I'm just the kind of person that likes to be by herself for a while; sometimes being around people wears me out." I rolled my shoulders and stretched, touching my toes. Weird ballerina habit: they always stretched without thinking about it, now I was doing it too. "It's nothing personal, really, I just need some time each day to be alone. You know I'll be in bed before you go to sleep." Meg nodded, never once had I gotten back after she'd gone to sleep.

Meg sighed, "I'm sorry Danielle, I don't know why, but it bothers me just a bit. Maybe it's because you are alone, even though I know that's what you want," she rubbed her arms nervously, "I just don't want you to get hurt. I mean, the whole thing with Blaise really... really..." Tears formed in her eyes and she looked down. I felt really bad for making her upset.

"It's okay Meg, I know you mean well. Don't worry, I'll just wander around the Opera tonight, I'll only stop outside to get a breath of fresh air." Meg wiped her eyes, embarrassed.

"Really? It would make me feel a lot better. I'm sorry." She apologized again. I rubbed her back.

"You don't need to be, I understand." I gave her a hug and walked away; seemed like Meg had a sixth sense for things that shouldn't be done; I knew Erik was dangerous and could kill a man without a second thought, but sometimes he looked so... so _unhappy,_ I'd feel like a bitch if I didn't try to help him.

I looked around, making sure I hadn't been followed. I checked the rafters, after the Buquet incident I made sure I was certain I was alone before I went anywhere, especially into the tunnels. Since I started using the one near the stage it has become easier to see in the dark, I didn't have much trouble finding my way anymore, I didn't even need to grope along the wall. The stone door leading into Erik's home was practically glowing, why did Erik have so many candles lit?

"Erik, you home?" I walked through the door and looked around. It looked like all the candles had been lit, even the ones across the lake that took forever to get to and light them all, Erik had complained about them once. I heard a rustle of fabric and turned to see Erik getting up from his organ. I blinked in surprise, trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things; Erik was dressed to the nines in full Phantom regalia. Erik smiled at me, seeing my stunned expression.

"Cat got your tongue?" For a second my mind went blank. He never got this dressed up just to compose, something was up.

"Are you feeling okay?" A frown passed over Erik's easy smile.

"Of course I do. Why?"

"No reason, really." I looked around the lair again, it was incredible

"Do you like it?" Erik asked nonchalantly. I could tell he really wanted a positive review.

"It's incredible, did you do all this yourself?" He nodded. "Must've been a bitch to get all the candles. What's the occasion?" Erik let out a low chuckle. What the hell had gotten into him?

"Do I need an occasion to do something for you?" Hokay, now this was getting weird. "I wanted to thank you for staying with me." I raised my eyebrows.

"Erik, you didn't need to do all this to thank me, all I need is a 'thank you' and a hug," I punched him in the arm, "but it's sweet."

"I want to give you something," he said. I held out my hands. Erik chuckled again. "But I don't know what to get you." I dropped my hands, I didn't really need anything and I didn't want to accumulate a lot of stuff.

"Sing for me." Erik lifted his one visible brow. "That's what I want." He nodded and tapped a few keys on the organ before he began to sing.

"_Night time, Sharpens, Heightens each sensation,_" Holy shit, he's singing Music of the Night to me.

"_Darkness, stirs and wakes imagination,_

_Silently the senses, abandon their defenses,_" his angelic voice wrapped around me; it was magical.

"_Helpless to resist, the notes I write,_

_For I compose the music of the night._" Erik lead me from the mouth of the tunnel to where he stood by the organ.

"_Slowly, Gently, Night unfurls its splendour,_

_Grasp it, Sense it, Tremulous and tender,_" he ran the tips of his fingers across my cheek bone, I could feel my heart skip a beat.

"_Hearing is believing,_

_Music is deceiving,_

_Hard as lightening, soft, as candle light,_

_Dare you trust the music of the night_." I looked away, embarrassed that I was embarrassed; gently Erik took my chin and angled my eyes to meet his. His smile was now a soft smirk, not mean but... something. I couldn't think of an emotion, or anything for that matter; I was just happy.

"_Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams_

_Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before,_" Erik ran slightly ahead of me, turning suddenly, tenderly looking into my eyes and willing my soul to take wing.

"_Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar;_" I let my eyes fall shut, breathing in the sound of his voice.

"_And you live as you've never lived before_

_Softly, Deftly, _

_Music shall caress you,_

_Hear it, feel it,_

_Secretly possess you_." Erik's perfect lips were almost eye level, I stared at them, hanging on every word.

"_Open up your mind,_

_Let your fantasies unwind,_" I don't think he'd want to see that.

"_In this darkness which you know you can not fight,_

_The darkness of the music of the night_." Erik opened his arms, like he was embracing the song.

"_Close your eyes start a journey through a strange new world,_

_Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before,_" Erik Walked around a table with statues, masks and music sheets on it, letting me absorb everything, my heart was doing a circus routine.

"_Let your soul take you where you long to be,_" Erik's powerful note made my body quiver down to the marrow in my bones. Slowly he approached me and ran his hands up my neck and rested them on my cheeks.

"_Only then can you belong to me._" He turned me around and pressed our bodies together, rocking with the soft melody; his hand ghosted across my stomach and down my hip.

"_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication,_

_Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation,_" he brought my hand up to the normal side of his face and, in between the word breaks, pressed a kiss to my palm.

"_Let the dream begin, _

_Let your darker side give in,_" I let the jumble of emotions tumble out of my eyes as he spun me to face him; God I hope he didn't feel my heartbeat.

"_To the power of the music that I write,_

_The power of the music of the night_." I let out a few shaky breaths, letting the crescendo of the music wash over me. I hadn't realized I'd closed my eyes until I felt the brush of Erik's breath on my eyelids. I opened my eyes and looked from his lips to his eyes. Had we always been this close?

"_You alone can make my song take flight,_

_Help me make the music of the night._" Slowly Erik leaned down and pressed our lips together and kissed me.

**Aaaand now you know why this chapter took so long. Hope you liked Music of the Night grapejuice101? Took a long time to put in, but I think it was worth it.**

**To anonymous reader who asked me a question about Erik's reaction on body jokes, I think she'd be pretty mad, sometimes she says things as a joke but accidentally hurts them. Review!**


	25. Chapter 25

Erik's lips pressed against mine, hungry and sweet. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, what could've been the more perfect first kiss? Erik ran his fingers through my hair, twining it around them and holding the back of my head gently, pulling me closer to him with his other hand around my waist. I felt so tiny next to him, so delicate. Everything was perfect. All I could think of was Erik and me. Erik and me? A jolt of sorrow shot through me; Erik loves Christine and only her, I was only relieving his sorrow, he'd try to force her to love him at the masquerade in a few weeks.

I pulled away quickly, not wanting to let his see me in tears. "I-I have to go, Meg will be wondering where I am," I murmured pulling myself out of his arms. Erik seemed to be at a loss for words, he held onto my arm until only our hands were connected. I pulled mine away and turned to the tunnel without another word. I sprinted away as fast as I could. God, what had just happened? I ran my hands over my face; when had we started to drift too close? I couldn't remember. That was weird, I could remember every detail of his song, the warmth that radiated between us. Kisses were weird, I thought as I ran out the entrance to the tunnel; pressing lips together to show love. It was a strange feeling, but it wasn't bad, just strange.

Why did he kiss me? I thought he loved Christine. No, I thought darkly, he _loves_ Christine, both the book and the musical and all the other adaptations share the same fact: Erik will love Christine for as long as he lives, no matter how much she doesn't deserve it. I regretted thinking that, but it was true; Christine would never love him back because of how he looks, that showed how shallow she was; maybe she could be taught better if I spoke to her when this was all over. When this was all over... we only had the masquerade and Don Juan left until Christine breaks his heart and leaves him to suffer at the hands of the mob with Raoul. Because he let her go.

So what was I? Something to toy with while he tried to get Christine back? No, Erik would never do anything like that; he probably confused the feelings he had for me with love because I'm his friend and he hasn't had many. Shit, I should go sort this out with him right now, but I really didn't want to, I didn't think I could face him.

ERIK

"_Night time, Sharpens, Heightens each sensation,_" Danielle's eyes widened for a minute, had she heard it before? Maybe in the musical of my life she has told me about.

"_Darkness, stirs and wakes imagination,_

_Silently the senses, abandon their defenses,_" she smiled, she had remarked that my voice was better than the others who had sung me.

"_Helpless to resist, the notes I write,_

_For I compose the music of the night._" I pulled her from where she stood rooted to the ground, she almost trembled at my touch.

"_Slowly, Gently, Night unfurls its splendor,_

_Grasp it, Sense it, Tremulous and tender,_" Danielle's pink lips pulled in a gust of air as I ran my fingers over her high cheek bones.

"_Hearing is believing,_

_Music is deceiving,_

_Hard as lightening, soft, as candle light,_

_Dare you trust the music of the night_." Danielle turned away, looking embarrassed and smiling. I brought her to face me, not meeting with any resistance. I couldn't believe that she could look so girly, it was adorable.

"_Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams_

_Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before,_" I pulled away from her, missing the warmth from her hands.

"_Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar;_" her eyes fell shut and her sweet lips took in a slow, long breath; it was as if she had never breathed before and she was just starting now.

"_And you live as you've never lived before_

_Softly, Deftly, _

_Music shall caress you,_

_Hear it, feel it,_

_Secretly possess you_." I pulled her with me through my home, her eyes never left me, pride swelled in my chest.

"_Open up your mind,_

_Let your fantasies unwind,_" she bit her lip, her eyes lit up beautifully showing pleasure and joy.

"_In this darkness which you know you can not fight,_

_The darkness of the music of the night_." I held my arms open, reveling in the splendor of Danielle's face.

"_Close your eyes start a journey through a strange new world,_

_Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before,_" I felt my heart pumping loud and full, for a moment I worried Danielle would hear it before logic met my thoughts.

"_Let your soul take you where you long to be,_" I watched gooseflesh pop up on her arms and the shaky breath leave her lips, could her heart be beating as fast as mine? Could she feel as I was feeling?

"_Only then can you belong to me._" I pulled her to me, savoring the feeling of her body pressed against mine, I almost forgot the rest of the song.

"_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication,_

_Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation,_" I led her hand to the good side of my face; could she possibly feel what I am feeling right now? I thought my heart would explode.

"_Let the dream begin,_

_Let your darker side give in,_" Danielle's eyes were a whirlwind of emotions, they flashed by so fast I had no time to identify them.

"_To the power of the music that I write,_

_The power of the music of the night_." Danielle let her eyes fall shut again and she breathing was shaky. She leaned on me lightly, her weight feeling like nothing in my arms; it brought me pleasure to know that I had make her knees weak enough for me to need to hold her up. Her eyes fluttered open and examined my eyes before falling to my lips. I almost forgot the next few words, the end of the song.

"_You alone can make my song take flight,_

_Help me make the music of the night._" Danielle's lips were only inches from mine, I could move half an inch and our lips would be touching. I felt myself bending my neck, never taking my eyes off hers, and kissed her. her lips were sweet and soft and perfect, despite the height difference our bodies seemed to fit together like two pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Every inch of Danielle's supple curves leaned into me, almost begging for my touch. Whatever deity was watching over me must have finally decided to favor me. Danielle hesitated for a fraction of a second, more than likely because of shock, before allowing herself to fall into the kiss.

God, it was more wonderful than I had dared hope for. No, I had not manipulated the situation to fit me, but it seemed my desires for Danielle's lips to mine were enough to make me bold enough to try and capture what I had dreamed of so recently. Her arms glided around my neck and my arms wound around her, pulling her body closer to mine and holding her head to mine, trying to make her lips stay connected for as long as possible. How had I not known her hair was so soft? or how small and delicate her waist was? It seemed like it had only lasted a moment before she pulled away, lips red from our kiss. She looked ready to cry.

"I-I have to go, Meg will be wondering where I am," she said as she disentangled herself from my arms and running to the mouth of the tunnel leading her to the world above. Reality slammed into me. I had just been fooling myself, there was no way that beautiful creature of the light, that sweet angel, could love a creature of the darkness such as myself. I had just tainted her radiant light with my abhorrent darkness. God, what had I done?

After the shock of losing her faded sorrow beyond imagination set in, along with a fierce anger. She had not pulled me closer, she had been pushing me away! Trying to find a way to rid herself of the monster that lurked just behind the mask. Who would want to kiss such an ugly, murderous being? She had only been kind to me because she wanted to save herself! I swiped the contents of a table to the floor and threw candlesticks to the ground. Damn them and all the time I wasted lighting them!

I could have destroyed my entire home had it not been for the nagging urge to compose this into Don Juan. I sat at my organ and viciously pressed the keys, demanding an ungodly sound from the pipes. How I hated this damned and cursed body with everything in me, no one could ever love something as vile as I. Restlessly I tore up the tunnel after her, finding the shadows and moving with them so I could find and watch Danielle without any trouble.

I found Danielle as she slipped down into a crouch against a wall, knees brought up to her chin and hands around her lips. She stared into space for a moment before she shook her head, wiped her eyes and got up.

"No use crying over spilled milk," she said and got up, walking back to the dormitory that she now shared with only Meg. I let the pain of her words accompany me back to my home. As I played Don Juan again anger filled my mind. I would not let it end like this.

DANIELLE

I can't believe Erik kissed me. What the hell? I didn't need my life to be anywhere near as complicated as when I thought Christine was going to unmask Erik, now he kisses me? He loved Christine, not me; it was a kind of kick in the gut. I got up from my place on the ground and quickly walked back to the dormitory in case Erik tried to come after me.

"Danielle, are you alright?" Meg looked up from the book she was reading in her bed when I came in and knew something was wrong. I licked my lips and walked to my bed, undressing like I normally would.

"Nothing," I lied. I glanced behind me to see if Meg bought it. She didn't.

"Well, if you want to talk about it, you can always come to me. You know that, right?" I smiled at her, grateful she didn't try to pry it out of me.

"Yeah, thanks." I pulled on my nightgown and got into bed, trying to make myself go to sleep. Meg turned off her light and quickly fell asleep. I closed my eyes and lay awake all night, I could almost hear the harsh notes of Don Juan vibrating up from the tunnels; notes twisted every way.

I got out of bed at six the next morning, eyes feeling like they were full of sand. I rubbed them, my arms felt like lead. Slowly, I opened my eyes and pulled my feet over the side of the bed. Meg was still asleep. I pulled on my robe, it was getting colder, much, much colder. I grabbed my bathroom stuff and hurried to the bathroom, trying to pay attention to everything, every dark crevice, every corner, just incase Erik decided to haul me off again.

How could he just _do_ that? Why would he just kiss me like it was something to do! Dumb jerk took my first kiss. Butt faced creep. I can't believe him. I instinctively rubbed my lips with my forefinger knuckle. Jesus, all I wanted right now was some chocolate ice cream and Máté Kamarás to pop out of my computer screen and hold me in his sexy arms. Of course both would be impossible because A) ice cream hasn't been _invented yet_ and B) Máté Kamarás wasn't born yet. Goddamn. I hauled myself into the bathroom and filled the tub. I stripped down and slid under the warm water, happy to finally untense my muscles after a sleepless night. I let my eyes fall shut and relax. I don't know how long I soaked there, but there was a sudden rap at the door; I jumped about a foot in the air and my eyes flew open.

"Danielle? Are you in there?" Came Meg's voice from behind the door. I rubbed away the goosebumps that had popped up on my arms.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute," I called back, realizing the bathwater was cold as all hell. I pulled the cork out and toweled off as quickly as I could. I dressed and exited the room, quickly walking down the halls, being just as cautious as I had been going in. I opened the door to the dormitory and found Meg waiting by her bed with her book. She looked up as I entered and smiled. Her smile quickly faltered at the sight of how worn out I looked.

"Oh Danielle, what's wrong? You look as if you have not slept one wink at all." I gave her a weak smile.

"Well I didn't. I had a lot on my mind last night, leaving me sleep deprived today." I rubbed my eyes again, trying to get the sleep out of them. "It's okay, it's not like I've never had a sleepless night before." I yawned and stretched. "Why don't we get breakfast?" Meg looked worried, but I guess she knew that she wasn't going to get anything out of me.

"Alright," she said. I felt bad for letting her worry, but really what could I tell her? _Oh, Meg; the Phantom of the Opera kissed me! What am I to do?_ Yeah, no.

"Sorry if I worried you this morning." I meant having her wake up and me not being there. Meg shook her head.

"I knew there was a rational reason, you're not one to go terribly far and not tell someone where you're going. I just assumed you had gotten up early to take a walk around the Opera or had gotten in the tub." We reached the kitchen, weirdly Henri was waiting there with Madame Giry. I don't mean they were speaking, they were just in the same room at the same time.

"Is it today?" He nodded. The day Henri had to leave had finally come. "It's not going to be much fun around here without you."

"Thanks." Henri smiled and picked up his two bags. "I'll try to come back as soon as my father is better, God knows I'm happier being a dancer than a grocery store owner." We had to laugh at that; even Madame Giry cracked a smile.

"It will be a shame to lose your talent, not to mention you are one of the only male dancers that will actually pay attention the first time around rather than look at the females." It was rare hearing Madame Giry giving out compliments. Henri blushed a bit with pride.

"Thank you Madame Giry, I've really treasured being in the ballet, I'm hoping to be back around this time next year or sooner." Madame giry nodded.

"There is some bread and cheese in a basket over there with a few apples and dried meats, I expect that basket back along with you." Madame Giry was really being nice to him right now, maybe she thought he wouldn't come back. That was a depressing thought.

"I'll come back to see the next performance! It will be strange coming back to the Opera as a viewer instead of an actor. Do you know what show it will be?" He asked. Don Juan Triumphant. I think if I told them that Madame Giry would have a fit; no doubt she knows about Erik's opera.

"It has not yet been decided; the new managers wish to announce it at the masquerade ball in a few weeks time." I mentally smacked myself in the forehead. How could I have forgotten about the masquerade? Henri seemed to perk up.

"Save a spot for me, I'd love to be there," Henri stuttered for a second, "I mean, if it wouldn't be too much trouble!" God, Henri could be uncharacteristically cute sometimes, it was almost funny.

"Don't worry about it, it won't be any trouble, just show up." I punched him in the arm and pulled him in for a hug. "I'm gonna miss you, ya big lug." He put his arms around me.

"And I you, my little holy terror," he said affectionately.

"D'aww, that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." I began to face cry. A round of goodbyes were said and Henri was gone. Huh. He was the first guy I'd gone on a date with; he is a really nice guy and I could only hope that he found someone to love and marry.

"Danielle, you received a letter from Christine today, I left it by the fruit." Madame Giry used a long knife to motion towards the letter that was propped up against the fruit bowl. I grabbed it and ripped the side of it off.

_Dear Danielle,_

_I can hardly believe so much time has passed. I promised I would write to you every week and it has been almost three! I feel so badly that I made you wait for my word. Danielle, I am so happy here, I did not know I could be so happy in all my life, it's almost like my sorrows have been washed away; for the first time since my father died I feel completely at peace, I just wish you were here with us, it seems so much more fun whenever you are around. Please come visit us soon, Raoul wishes you were here as well, he has remarked that he misses your quick wit and sharp tongue. I don't intend to sound so imploring but I want nothing more than to show you all that Raoul has shown me. I cannot wait for the masquerade to see you, I promise you will have so much fun. Give my love to Meg and Madame Giry, I do so miss them._

_Warmest Regards,_

_Christine Daae_

I smiled; it was nice to hear that they missed me so much. I should go visit them, it would give me an excuse to get out of the Opera for a while and think about how to approach Erik again, I know I have to talk to him again, I just don't know what to say. _So Bro, why'd ya kiss me? Ya gonna do it again? _God, no.

"Christine want's me to come visit her and Raoul." I wanted to go, no doubt, but I still felt bad about leaving Erik here. I looked up at Madame Giry and gave her a meaningful look.

"Meg, why don't you go find a bag for Danielle's things while I help her with chartering a carriage to take her?" Meg nodded and left the room. Madame Giry turned to me and asked, "Danielle, what has happened?" God, I really didn't want to tell her this.

"We had a little, ahg, ungoodness happen a bit ago." Madame Giry raised her eyebrow.

"An ungoodness? Really? Pray tell what this 'ungoodness' was about?" No tip toeing around the subject with her.

"Erik kissed me." I didn't think I'd ever seen someone's eyes pop out of their head the way Madame Giry's eyes did.

"He... _what_?" I don't think there was anything in the world she had expected less.

"He kissed me, right in the middle of his lair. God, it was weird, like I was in one of those soap operas that are on daytime television, my life has become one of those convoluted stories that never make sense." I brought my hands to my eyes and pressed them in until I saw spots. "Ya know, it might not have been that bad if it hadn't been my _first kiss ever._ God, I didn't even consent to it! It was just like, 'I will kiss you now' and boom! There goes my first kiss into the clutches of a man who calls himself the Opera Ghost!" I finished my mini rant and flopped onto the floor of the kitchen. "I really need to get out of here."

"Did he try to... _force_ you?" I laughed humorlessly.

"Hell no. I pushed him away and left. Got back to the dorm as fast as I could; even Meg could tell something was up." Madame Giry looked around worriedly, I could tell she was wondering if Erik was listening in.

"Danielle, I think it would be in your best interests to go visit Christine for a while, just long enough for me to talk sense back into Erik." I rolled my eyes, Erik didn't have any sense, he did whatever he wanted.

"I'll leave as soon as possible, I just need a carriage and my stuff in bags."

"How will you know where to go?" Madame Giry asked worriedly.

"Return address." I pointed to the top corner of the envelope at the small address written there.

"I'll call a carriage to be ready in an hour." We went for find Meg and filled my bags with what I was going to need for a few weeks.

"Oh Danielle, it's not going to be much fun here alone," Meg said as she helped me fold a dress.

"Don't worry Meg, I'll only be gone a week or two, if that; I'll be back before you know it." I stuffed the dress in the already bulging suitcase. I'll write to you as soon as I get there, the letter might not be so long, but I'll tell you about riding in the carriage and seeing Raoul and Christine's surprised faces when I get out." Meg smiled at me mischievously, she was getting quite a taste for mischief; I blame myself but I'm loving every moment of it.

"I look forward to reading it."

"I'm going to go to the bathroom before the carriage gets here, I need to pee." I walked into the corridor, making sure that I kept an eye on all of the dark twists and turns of the halls. But no matter how much attention I payed, Erik was still better than me.

In a flash a black glove was closed around my waist and tugged me into a dark alcove adjacent to the hallway. Erik had me pinned to the wall and at his mercy. I struggled in vain to pull my arms free from his vice like grip. "Do you think I would allow you to leave me?" Erik's eyes were burning.

"Get off me." I growled out. Erik's hand met my throat and squeezed, hard enough to hurt, soft enough to let me breath. He kept three of his fingers around my throat and let the remaining two gently run down the sides of my neck; trust Erik to find the only sensual way to strangle someone.

"You belong to me." He whispered fiercely. I felt a surge of adrenaline shoot through my body and I was able to knock him away from me.

"Ich Gehör Nur Mir!"* I walked away as fast as I could without making it look like I was running. Screw peeing; I'll tell the driver to stop by some nice, secluded bushes and do my business there. I put on what I hoped was a pretty neutral/happy face and re-entered the dormitories. "Well, let's get these bags out to the carriage, not use wasting daylight." We each grabbed a stuffed bag (in this era it was impossible not to have a stuffed bag with all the clothes I was subjected to. We brought them out to the carriage driver and he loaded them into the carriage.

"Goodbye Danielle." I hugged Meg and Madame Giry and climbed into the carriage and settled down, the air was frigid, I could tell that there was going to be snow on the ground soon enough. I looked back at the Opera House, it had been my home for months and months, almost a year. Wow, I'd been gone from my time for so long, I could hardly believe it; the only mark for time was my dwindling amount of medication.

After hours of riding and two stops to pee and stretch I was finally at the doors to Raoul's insanely big estate. The driver got my bags down and I told him I was fine from here and he left. Someone must have seen me coming up the drive because some servants came out to meet me.

"Excuse me miss, how may I help you?" They were eying me up and down, as if to say, _Who's this bitch coming to our masters house when he has another he's entertaining? Is this a scandal?_

"My name is Danielle BellRose and I am here to see my good friends Raoul De Chagny and Christine Daae." The servants ran inside to get Raoul while I was stuck with the luggage. I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders, trying to work out the knots. There was a clattering and the sound of running and suddenly Raoul was standing at the door with a panting Christine bringing up the rear. "Hey," I said cheerfully.

"Danielle." Was all Raoul could say; Christine was speechless; I faked exasperation.

"Is that all you can say to the person that spent hours in a carriage after reading how much you missed me?" I put my hands on my hips and smiled at them.

"You came all this way just after reading my letter?"

"Duh, I needed to get out anyway, just decided it had to be now." Christine almost knocked me to the ground when she rushed over and hugged me. "What, no hugs Raoul?" I wiggled a free arm and Raoul came up and wrapped his arms around both of us and lifted us up. I laughed and Christine covered her mouth and giggled.

"It's so good to see you Danielle, come in, I'll send a servant for your bags. You must tell us everything about the ride over." He motioned for two of the male servants to take my bags then turned to a maid. "Make up a room for our guest at once," he turned to me, "you must be exhausted, of course we'll let you rest before we bombard you with questions." I waved my hand.

"I'm not really tired, I do however need to write a letter to Meg; I promised I'd write to her as soon as I got here. I can write and talk at the same time." We chatted and walked in the door to the drawing room. Raoul got me a pen and paper and I sat at a desk and wrote a letter to Meg.

_Dear Meg,_

_Just arrived out of the blue, you should have seen their faces..._

CHRISTINE

Something was wrong. Of course I loved that Danielle was here to make light of everything with her humor and personality, but I couldn't help but feel something was amiss. What had pushed her to leave the Opera only hours after receiving my letter? Was she running from something? Or... _someone_? I felt chills all through my body, settling in my stomach as hard as lead. The image of my maskless dark angel filled my mind. Oh God, what if he had hurt her in the pursuit of finding me? Had I put Danielle in harms way? He had hurt her before. Oh no, what about Meg? Would he harm her too?

I shook the thoughts from my mind; it was more likely than not Danielle had decided to be spontaneous and visit unannounced just because she had felt like it. Yes, that must be it. I convinced myself that idea was true, but no matter how hard I tried I still felt a sense of dread in my heart.

ERIK

I let anger envelop me as I watched Danielle's carriage roll away. I would get her when she came back and I would get Christine, she had also betrayed me. Damn Giry for helping her get away from me! I would have her head! I walked through the tunnels to her office to confront her; she was sitting at her desk waiting for me. I emerged from the door leading into the room, ready unleash my anger upon her when she suddenly gave me a look that could make Lucifer himself shrink in horror.

"_You_," she jabbed a finger at me, I almost physically jumped, "_sit_!" Obediently I sat on the edge of the small bed, so much like the ones in the ballerina dormitories, like a small child in trouble. "Of all the cruel and unusual things you've done, I would have never expected you to do something like this!" She nearly smack me in the back of the head but lowered her hand at the last moment. "How could you do that to her? She has given you nothing but her care and patience since she arrived and you throw it away for a moment of pleasure? For God's sake she _forgave_ you when you slapped and strangled her, how could you do something so _vile_ to her?" I let my anger bubble out.

"_Vile_? I _kissed_ her, you make it sound as if I had _raped_ her!" She swiftly silenced me with a lift of her finger.

"_Sit_! What you did was almost as bad! A woman's first kiss is everything to her, all she wants is to give it to the man she loves most in the world, the one she would do anything for! What you did was just like you had violated her! Did you know she had never kissed another? She will never be able to experience that first kiss of all, the first kiss of first love, with anyone not you have taken it!" She sighed in frustration and anger. "You will never understand the preciousness of love's first kiss, no matter how hard I try."

"Because I am a monster?" I asked bitterly.

"No," she said in an eerily calm voice, "because you are a man. In this dreary existence of womanhood we are not given the same opportunities as men, we are not treated the same; what is offered to you is not to us. We have so little to look forward to and Danielle is stuck here with the other women who suffer and she has less time than us, no time for love." I could hear Antoinette choke back a sob; had I made her weep? "She will never know the joy, the utter happiness and fullness of having love like I had with my Fredric, how could you take the one thing she could still give?" After his death Fredric Giry had been a subject we never talked of, even after all these years it still brought her to tears thinking of the man she loved. She was thinking of the kiss she shared with her love that Danielle could not with her imaginary lover. I slumped my shoulders, upset that I had put my oldest friend through so much pain.

"I am sorry Antoinette." I put my hand on her shaking shoulder and she shook her head.

"Do not apologize to me Erik, apologize to her."

**Ich Gehör Nur Mir means I belong to me, also a song in the German musical Elisabeth, I'd check it out if I were you. *Wink, wink, nudge, nudge***

**I'm happy with what I've done, how about you? Sorry about the updating schedule, I've had a hard time with the last few weeks of school and graduation. As always I only own Danielle and the story, if you like it read and review! Ps I know you already heard MOTN, but I wanted to get it from both perspectives so there you go.**


	26. Chapter 26

It was almost weird staying in a fancy estate; like I'm staying at some high class hotel that had medieval showers that, finally, I don't have to bother myself turning on. It was pretty great being able to wake up every morning in a soft bed instead of the hard bed in the Opera dormitories. The servants took care of everything and I hardly had to do a thing, though that quickly became boring. So I decided to do something to entertain myself.

I snuck around through the halls of Raul's estate trying to not be seen as I made my way to his office. I peeked in through the cracked doorway to see if he was inside. He was. Raoul had his back to me. Perfect. I pulled up my skirt and crept into the room, stopping right behind Raoul's back.

"Boo!" I screamed. Raoul yelped and jumped a foot in the air, clutching the area over his heart and saying a string of words in french that I couldn't understand but could guess where curses.

"Danielle! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I smiled down at him and stuck my tongue out before running out of the room in hysterics. I heard Raoul's chair scrape the floor as he finally caught of and gave chace. "I'll get you for that!" He yelled after me.

"You'll never take me alive!" I shrieked behind me. I was glad that I'd been building up muscles these past few months, or Raoul'd gotten me immediately. I was able to hold my skirts up and dodge in between the few servants here and there and run faster than he could catch me. I burst through the door to the parlor where Christine spent our time reading and talking while Raoul worked, keeping up his estate and business; I didn't ask what the business was, I didn't really care, I was pretty sure it had something to do with trading; it would explain why he was so rich.

Christine looked up as I burst into the room, eyes wide and hand over her chest. I grinned and her and pulled her off of her chair and out into the hallway and began to run again. "Danielle, what in the world-"

"Raoul's it!" I yelled behind me. Christine giggled at the game and ran with me, Raoul soon turned a corner and caught sight of us running together around another. He groaned.

"Now I'm up against the two of you? The odds are not in my favor." I could hear the smile in his voice; no matter how he moaned about it I knew that he was having fun. No telling how long it had been since he could act like a kid instead of an adult. How boring, I couldn't stand the thought of growing up, I mean, where was the fun in it? Where was the joy? That's why I had promised to act like a kid for as long as I could. That's why I decided to act as childish as possible for as long as possible. Like now.

I didn't really know the house that well, so Christine and I got cornered pretty fast. I looked around, but it seemed like it was one of those weird halls that get cut off immediately with no way to get around him. We were cornered.

"Christine, on three tackle him." Christine looked ready to laugh, but she hid it behind a smile. "Shit's about to get real." Raoul came around the corner with a look of triumph on his face. He stalked towards us, trying to use his height to make his seem scary, raising his arms to the level of his head like a mugger. Oh, he was going to get the surprise of his life. When did tag get so serious? That's what you get when you put me together with a game, everything gets really competitive. Sports were almost impossible, thank God I could never play them because of my heart excuse; I could have played, I just didn't want to; let alone watch wrestling, I always came out with the urge to pile drive someone. Ha, now I could without getting in trouble. "Ready Chrissy?" I whispered. She nodded slowly; she had the most intense look on her face, it was almost comical. "One, two... three!" We rushed forward and jumped on him, effectively knocking him down.

After a minute of struggling, Raoul had to accept the fact that he wasn't going to win against us. "Alright, alright, I give up, you win!" Christine and I rolled off of him and allowed him to get up. I lifted my hand into the air towards Christine. She just stared at it blankly. Oh, the high five hadn't been invented yet.

"Handshake in the sky Christine!" Wow, nice covering my ass there. Handshake in the sky, what the fuck? Christine burst into a full blown laugh and took my hand.

"Do you do that in the future too?" I couldn't help but laugh too, at my own horrible choice; I'm not going to live this down, I could tell that right now.

"No, I just made it up." Raoul helped us to our feet since it was stupidly hard to move in these medieval dresses.

"Even for you that was pretty strange," she said. Yeah, I knew. This was going to be one of those things that was going to be brought up every time we were together and laughing. An 'oh, do you remember the time when...' moment.

"yeah, yeah it was." We moved into the drawing room where Christine had been reading before and sat, trying to catch our breath. It was nice to have friends who would just go with it when you decided to so something strange. Blaise would've thought this was hilarious. Blaise. I miss him. Those days when it was me and him and Henri going down to the pub for a drink were wonderful memories. Going to that gay bar with Blaise, sneaky little bastard, getting me to go in with him; the shit I saw that day. Man on man action all over the walls and corners, men in dresses and weird shit you just don't expect to see in 1872. I mean, I don't have a problem with it, I live an hour away from _San Francisco_ for God's sake, it's just it's so frowned upon in this era, you don't expect it. At all. I hope Blaise was happy, wherever he was now; heaven or something better be good to him.

All I can say is that he better not come around me again, or I'll knock him one like I should've before he died. Who am I kidding, I'd hug him and cry if I saw him again. That butthead, how dare he get killed? I rubbed my temples, don't talk like an idiot and don't speak ill of the dead. It wasn't anyone's fault Blaise was dead, and I needed to stop thinking about it. He's with Der Tod now; Der Tod will keep him safe. I looked up and tried to rejoin the conversation.

RAOUL

I watched Danielle go inside of herself, she wasn't paying any attention to either Christine or I or the conversation; we could've been speaking in tongues and she wouldn't have noticed. Her sudden arrival had shocked Christine and I; she had only posted the letter a few days before and suddenly there she was; two stuffed bags by her side and a lopsided grin on her face; I could tell she loved the surprised looks on our faces. Sometimes it seemed like she enjoyed doing things without thinking them through first, but that didn't really seem like Danielle. She did make strange decisions, but never ones that were as rash as this.

What could have possibly Made strong, sure Danielle act so strange? She had never acted like she was in risky company. I couldn't help but think of the time I had met her in the cafe and found her bruised in pain. That was the only time I saw her cry. When I had brought her here she told me one of her boss' had beaten her, I had assumed, after finding where she worked, that it had been the previous owner of the Opera Populaire, but he seemed to kind a man to raise his fist against a woman. When I had spoken about it to Christine when she first arrived, she had told me it had been the Phantom who had given Danielle those bruises but that couldn't be true. The Phantom was a myth, wasn't he? When I brought Christine here she had worried about the Phantom as well, she even went to far as to say that he had kidnapped her the night we were going to go to dinner but that was ridiculous, there was no such thing as a ghost or a phantom or what have you.

Was someone dressing up as the alleged 'Phantom' and terrorizing the people of the Opera? None of this was making any sense. Who would do this? The average madman could not pull off what the rumors have said. I shook my head; this was madness, there is no Phantom of the Opera. There has to be some logical explanation to this. Danielle must have just wanted to see us and decided to make it a surprise. That must be it. I was thinking about this too much, it was making me paranoid.

"We should begin to prepare for the Masquerade ball," I said. They turned to look at me. I knew that both Christine and Danielle wanted to go but Christine had no ideas of what she wanted to wear and Danielle had told me she was too lazy to think about it immediately. The ball was next week and none of us were ready.

"Oh yeah; I forgot about that." Danielle shrugged her shoulders and rolled onto her stomach. "Why don't we just skip it?" I looked at her as If she were mad.

"I am the patron of the Opera, how could I 'skip it'?" Danielle pushed out her lips and rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't mean we have to go," she said. Really now, she was acting ridiculous.

"Yes, but you are one of the stars of the Opera and it is expected of you to show up. Come on now, I'll have the horses prepared to bring us into town." Christine got up and went to her room to prepare for the journey. Danielle groaned but did not move.

"I don't feel like it, I don't want to go to some stuffy ball with a bunch of stuffed shirts." She reclined with her hands behind her head, an uncaring look on her face. I could hardly believe she was being so defiant over going dress shopping to an event at the place she called home. I was growing tired of her attitude.

"That is regrettable; but you are going to come whether you like it or not." I lifted her easily off the couch and threw her over my shoulder, walking out of the room.

"What the hell Raoul? Put me down." She didn't kick or scream, but lowered her voice dangerously.

"No." I opened the door and passed Christine in the hall, I knew she was giving us a strange look, but chose not to say anything.

"Raoul, don't be difficult." I almost laughed, I'm the one being difficult?

"I think I am the one that should be saying that to you," I said, dropping her on her bed. "Get ready, you'll need a warm cloak and thick shoes." He huffed out a sigh and began to pull her shoes on. "Why don't you want to go?"

"If you knew what I know, you wouldn't want to go either," she said, not even bothering to make eye contact.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm from the future, I know everything that's going to happen." She shook her head, "I know I shouldn't talk about it, but you know, it's hard not to." What was she talking about?

"Danielle, if something bad's going to happen, you need to tell me, not hide it." I could see her contemplating everything as she slipped her other shoe on. Suddenly she let out a frustrated gust of air.

"I don't even know anymore," she looked up at me with a weary grin on her face. "Things have changed, Raoul. I'm not sure what's going to happen anymore."

"Then you need to face this, see it through; you know Christine and I will be there for you, no matter what." She smiled, finally.

"You're right Raoul. Sometimes you're too good." She got up and went to the closet and pulled out a heavy dark blue cloak. "Let's go look at dresses, it can't be that boring." Finally she was joking, it was upsetting seeing her act so lazy; now we can finally try to prepare for the ball.

DANIELLE

Why was I acting so stupid? How could I have almost told Raoul about Erik? Well, it's not like he'd believe me, He's too stubborn. Really, what did he think Christine was doing every time she told him about him? Lying? Maybe he thought he was crazy? How the hell could he think her crazy when he believed I was from the future? I had too many marks against me now, I had to make sure everything played out as it is supposed to; Erik desperately trying to win Christine's love and ruining the place he called home for so long. I almost couldn't wait to be out of this place, it just seemed to love giving me shit to worry about; I'm probably going to go prematurely grey.

I wish Blaise was alive to help me now, I could really use him. It makes me wonder what he'd say to all this. I wonder if it'll ever get better, the needing him even though I won't see him for the rest of the time I spend in this world, however long that is. I pulled on the ends of my hair absently; I hoped the shopping went fast, I wasn't really in the mood to go out; I haven't been sleeping well the past few nights, I've been having nightmares, about the ball, about the ending, about Erik. They never ended well. I was sleep deprived and irritated from sitting in the carriage for an hour with the lovers across from me. They looked at each other like the entire world was in their eyes. God, I almost jumped out of the carriage and walked back to Paris, I definitely would've perfected it. I reflected on how Christine had so horribly rejected Erik because of how he looked and not because of how he acted. Surely she remembered he was the only friend she had after her father died, how he took care of her and showered her with love? But she threw that away because of how he looked.

What am I thinking? Why should I care what happens to Erik anymore? He fucked up, and I'm not going to talk to him anymore. But the looks Raoul and Christine gave each other had me almost gouging my eyes out in disgust. None too soon we got to the dress shop that sold dresses for this occasion. I guess this time was good for something, they actually had dresses in abundance that fit me easily, since most girls were my height more or less.

"So, now what?" I looked over the rows and rows of dresses, not knowing where to start.

"I will call a few attendants over to help you find a few dresses to try on," Raoul said and motioned to a woman behind the counter to come over and help us, she called a few others and we were whisked into the dressing rooms.

"Where are you going to go?" Christine called behind her.

"I'm going to go to the men's shop a few blocks over, I'm sure my fitting will be done in no time and I'll be back shortly." He ducked out of the store, undoubtedly happy to get away. Lucky.

Christine and I holled up in the dressing room while the attendants took our measurements and brought in the most festive party dresses. They were almost nauseatingly colorful. They stuffed me into dress after dress. I felt like a life size doll. Christine was loving it, she eventually picked out the pink dress she would wear in the movie.

"I'm going to be a fairy, all I need to add are wings and a crown," she said happily; I guess she hadn't gotten enough of that stuff as a kid. I had to admit though, it was really Christine. "Do you have any ideas for your costume or are you going to just wear a mask?" That was a good question, what was I going to go as? There's no way I'd just put on a mask, where's the fun in that? Besides, it was the _Masquerade._ How many chances do you get for this? One. Not even. I needed to make this costume stick out, it needed to be solely mine. "Danielle?"

"I don't know yet, but it has to be interesting; not something that everyone else will be doing. No idea what that's gonna be." I browsed the rack of dresses that I hadn't tried on. One of the attendants tried to pull me away to try on a green dress I knew would look horrible against my skin tone. "I want to look on my own for a bit, I'll call you when I need help; why don't you go rest your feet?" The attendant nodded and went to sit down. "I hate looking for dresses, it takes too long and I get bored." I stopped, looking at a blue dress; I could be the ocean, get a mask with waves. Nah, that was stupid. I might as well put a boat on top of my head. I didn't want to be a deity, the might think it was blasphemous. Ha, as if I cared. I quickly flicked through the gowns until I came to a beautiful dark red one.

It had nice, off the shoulders sleeves, tight around the body with a skirt that flared out dramatically and ruffles making it look like the layers of a rose. A rose! That's what I'll be! "I got an idea, Chrissy!" I called over my shoulder, signaling to the attendant that I needed help getting into the dress. I pulled it on over my ridiculous underwear, I'd started wearing the pantaloons since it was getting cold, and headed out to meet Christine to get her opinion. "What do you think?"

"It looks good on you, what was your idea?"

"I'm going to go as a red rose; it means passion and love," I spun in a circle, "wild, hot passionate love." Christine got a weird look on her face, I can only guess that she was thinking of Erik and his roses. "Lets go find some accessories and get out of here."

"Alright," she said; I knew she was trying to act normal, but she was slightly off. I went over to the hair bobbles and browsed through them, looking for something that would go with Christine's pink dress.

"Do you think we could get a crown here?" I asked, rummaging through a bunch of hair clips before I gripped the edges of the perfect tiny tiara for Christine; light purple and intricately designed. "This looks cute." I placed it on top of her brown curls and held my fingers up as if to judge the camera angle. "Perfect." Finally Christine gave me a real smile. "Raoul's paying for this, right?"

"Why yes Danielle, he has so graciously offered to have the cost of these dresses taken care of by the De Chaney estate." She gave me a wide grin, bordering on mischievous; I'm such a bad influence.

"Then let's find some nice new shoes to go with our dresses." We skipped off to the shoe section where I quickly picked out a pair of emerald green low heeled boots that laced up gracefully in the front with gold stitches. I looked around for earrings until I found a pair with a large green stone in the shape of a beetle with folded gold wings and edges, I added them to the pile of things I was going to get. I decided to not get a new necklace and wear the one Raoul gave me even though it clashed with the color scheme I'd worked with. To complete the ensemble I pulled a matching pair of emerald green gloves from the shelf and laid them across the dress in the arms of the attendant that had followed us and boxed the things we wanted.

"Will you need any clips for your hair, Miss?" The attendant asked, respectfully. I guess I needed to do my hair up a bit for the ball.

"Lead the way," I said.

"Oh, I've got just the pin set in mind." She led me back to the counter and brought out a box of beautiful gold pins with green stone ends, I had no doubt that they were read emerald. Right down the center of the bauble was a swirl of gold, completely beautiful. "I'll give you the set at a discount if you buy this clip." She indicated to a realistic looking blood red rose that pinned into the hair. How could I resist?

"Discount is half price." She looked ready to object. "Take it or I walk." She weighed her options before consenting. While she was calculating all of the items Christine and I were going to buy Raoul walked in.

"Raoul, we're over here!" Christine called from the register. I could see Raoul close his eyes briefly at the sight of our purchases.

"Come on Raoul, we can't pay for this ourselves!" Raoul silently walked up and paid the cashier.

"Will you please ask someone to help us with our bags?" He asked. The cashier summoned two attendants to help us carry out the stuff and packed it all in the carriage. We climbed in and set off for the Estate.

"Did you have a good time shopping?" Raoul asked.

"Oh yeah, it was great; the best part was that it was over quickly, I can't stand long trips." It proved to be just what I needed, after doing a lot of nothing for the past few days besides write to Meg and walk around the gardens, I needed something active. "Wait! Can we stop by the cemetery?"

"Oh yes, I would love to visit my fathers' grave." Christine spoke up beside me. Raoul gave a nod and signaled for the horses to turn around, it was lucky that we hadn't gone too far off route.

The cemetery was lit in a cheery yellow light that looked so strange for what it was, the place we lay our dead to rest. We didn't talk as we walked to the graves. I stopped at Blaise's grave and let them make the short walk to Gustave Daae's alone. I brushed the leaves off and rubbed the few dirt stains away, trying to make the grave as clean as possible.

"Hello there my glorious rainbow friend, how's it going?" I knew I wasn't going to get a response but I still waited an appropriate amount of time before going on. "It's still so strange to think of you sitting in this grave, cold and dead." I rubbed the tears out of my eyes. "I miss you, so much. I have so much to tell you." I told him, in a low voice, what happened between Erik and I and what was happening now. I sat with my back covering the description and looked out over the grave yard. The snow had begun to fall and the unseasonably warm weather had made the snow mushy water sludge. I missed the rain back home, when it came down my little town by the sea seemed so perfect, so heart wrenchingly beautiful. The ocean would churn and bubble, the waves rising high sand crashing definingly on the shore. I described my home town, Clementine, to him.

"Small and perfect, the place I want to spend my entire life. Everything's in walking distance, even the ocean; you'd love it, I know." I heard someone walking up the path in the same direction Christine, Raoul and I had come.

"Danielle, what a nice surprise." It was father Oliver. "I thought you'd be back to visit again."

"Yeah, I was in the area and thought I'd drop by, you know, to make sure you weren't mistreating them." Oliver laughed at this.

"One cannot mistreat the dead," he smiled. I rolled my eyes. "I must admit, I thought you would be back sooner." He sounded like one of those gossipy old ladies.

"I'm staying with my friend Raoul for a bit, until the Masquerade." His eyes widened and he clutched the ever present bible hard in his hands.

"That is a scandal!" He stood straight as a board, I almost laughed.

"Hardly," I motioned for him to sit next to me, "you see the girl over there he's with? He's planning to propose."

"How do you know?" He asked curiously.

"I'm a girl, girl's know." What else could have taken him that long while we were shopping?

"I've heard of feminine intuition but I have never put any faith in it, you must tell me if your intuition is right." If he was betting, he'd lose.

"Alright, but you'd better get ready to be proven wrong." Although I'm not really using 'feminine intuition' it wouldn't hurt to play with a priest.

"Danielle, Raoul and I were wondering if you were ready to leave; it's going to be dinner time soon and we want to make it back in time." Christine walked over, arm in arm with Raoul. "Hello Father, it is good you see you." Oliver stood and bowed his head.

"Good evening Madame Daae, it is good to see you are well." He looked at Raoul and repeated the gesture.

"Good afternoon Father, I'm sorry we seem to be taking your conversation partner away." Raoul apologised like it was an actual offense. I stood up and brushed the back of my dress that had been touching the ground.

"We should get going, I'm hungry already. Goodbye Oliver." I curtsied, only jokingly because I couldn't hug him goodbye or shake his hand without it being scandalous or something. Oliver reached out and grabbed my hand, my eyebrows went into my hairline and his head dipped gracefully and lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against my knuckles.

"May God keep you," he lifted his eyes to mine, an amused smile on his lips. "Whatever your views might be." I smiled.

"You too, Oliver, you too."

The ride back was quiet and not nearly as bad as the ride there; it was almost half an hour before anyone spoke. Quite frankly, I was surprised that anyone had anything to say.

"You seem to be on good terms with the priest." I looked at Raoul who was looking at me intently. Oh _no_, he was not implying what I thought he was. That was sick, twisted and against his religion or something, I mean, I'd never seen him go to church, but then I wasn't up until nine most days.

"You tryin' ta say somethin'?" I could feel the 'bitch, please' look getting pulled out of the closet and dusted off. "I guess we're friends, what's wrong with that?"

"The way he looked at you-"

"You're imagining it, dummy!" I made sure that my voice told them that was the last word I'd listen to of it. I was glad they didn't bring it back up. What's with these fictional characters and their need for drama? I looked out the window for the rest of the time, not in the mood to talk.

Dinner was almost as quiet, but Christine made an effort to keep us talking, bless her. It was mainly talk of the ball in a week that she spoke about, but she also started talking about _Hannibal _and how wonderful it was to finally be able to play her dream role of Elissa.

"You were incredible, Christine," Raoul said and took her hand.

"Yeah, you kicked butt." Christine blushed; Due to praise or my choice of words, I couldn't tell. It was still funny how she reacted to the things I sometimes said.

"You also, ah, kicked butt." I threw my head back and laughed out loud until I started having trouble breathing. God, I shouldn't let Christine say any of the shit I do, but God damn it was funny. I finally puIled myself together enough to look over at her. Her face was beet red.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just so weird hearing someone from around here say something like that." I wiped a tear out of the corner of my eye. The conversation got easier after that. Pretty soon Raoul suggested we 'retire' to the parlour. I still got a kick out of some of the things they said. The conversation seemed light and relaxed, but one look at Raoul told me all I needed to know. I contained my inner squealing kid and excused myself. "I need to pee, be back in a sec." I quickly left the room, walking all the way down to the bathroom and waiting five minutes before heading back.

Christine stood, wrapped in Raoul's arms, I wish I had a camera, this was a sweet sight. I politely cleared my throat and Christine spun around.

"Danielle, it's the most wonderful thing, Raoul's proposed!" She was practically vibrating with excitement. "I accepted." They looked at each other fondly.

"Called it!" They both looked startled and pulled out of their reverie. "Really, what man takes as long as us to pick out a costume?" Raoul turned pink and I laughed. "Don't worry, I already knew it was going to happen before the costume shopping. Future, remember?" I pointed at myself and laughed. "Congratulations."

The rest of that week was filled with them mooning over each other and wedding planning, Christine wanted to get a head start. It was really sweet seeing her fuss over every little detail. She stayed away from roses of any color and decided on lilies for her bridal bouquet. So this is it, now she's pretending like Erik was never in her life, like he was not the one who was always there for her, no matter what. Even though I was mad at Erik, this seemed just as bad as the betrayal of Jesus. What a bitch move. I guess she'll be paid in kind one day.

The week was up and we were getting ready for the Masquerade tonight, I was almost a wreck. I took deep breaths and tried to look on the positive side of things, maybe the whole scene won't happen and Erik'll realize how creepy he's being and not go through with Don Juan and trying to force Christine to be his wife. Maybe they could sit down and talk things out (yeah right). I knew it wouldn't happen, but I hoped.

The maid that helped me get dressed did my hair into an elaborate up-do, giving just enough hair to frame my brows before using all the pins to push my hair to the top of my head in a bun, letting it fall down my back in intricate braids and curls and clipped the rose to hold the bun together beautifully. I hardly looked like myself anymore. She tied the green and gold etched mask to my face and I was ready to go. I walked down the stairs to meet Raoul and Christine for the carriage. Neither wore masks, but they both looked stunning in their party clothes. Raoul was a military man and Christine was a fairy princess complete with a crown and pink ballet slippers.

"Ready to go?" Raoul asked.

"Let's rock this shit!" Christine giggled. "Don't repeat that." She smiled and nodded. We piled into the carriage and set off for the Opera. My nerves were doing backflips.

The ride seemed to last for minutes instead of hours.

I walked in, feeling a bit out of place with Christine and Raoul wrapped up in each other so, I was kind of jealous that I was there alone.

"Surprise!" A man in a white wig and a sun costume jumped out in front of me with his arms raised in the classic 'surprise' look.

"Jesusfuckonastick!" I jumped backwards and thanked whatever deity was there that my profanity had come out too fast for anyone to understand it.

"I'm sorry Danielle, I didn't mean to scare you!" The man lifted up his mask and I saw just who I suspected it would be: Henri. I let out a breath and went up and smacked his arm.

"The hell, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" I smiled up at him, I wasn't really angry, just a bit upset. "It's nice to see you."

"You too," he said and beamed down at me. I caught up with Raoul and Christine and told them who it was.

"It's nice to see you again," Christine said, "how are you doing at your family's business?"

"It's alright, I just wish my father would get better so I could come back to the Opera, I miss being able to practice on the stage, the only place there is there in on the grocery floor and that's not the cleanest place to practice the splits." We walked out onto the dance floor and Henri offered me his hand and pulled me into a strange waltz, Christine and Raoul spun around next to us, blissfully happy in each others arms.

We had been dancing on and off for hours and, just ten minutes before midnight, the iconic song began to play.

"_Maquerade! Paper faces on parade_

_Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you_

_Masquerade! Every face a different shade_

_Masquerade! Look around, there's another mask behind you._" We sang along and danced, laughing the entire way.

"_Flash of mauve_

_Splash of puce_

_Fool and king_

_Ghoul and goose_

_Green and black_

_Queen and priest_

_Trace of rouge_

_Face of beast_

_Faces!_

_Take your turn, take a ride_

_On the merry-go-round_

_in an inhuman race_

_Eye of gold_

_Thigh of blue_

_True is false_

_Who is who?_

_Curl of lip_

_Swirl of gown_

_Ace of hearts_

_Face of clown_

_Faces! Drink it in, drink it up_

_Till you've drowned_

_In the light_

_In the sound_

_But who can name the face?_" Christine went to sit down, she had danced more than me and her feet were tired, Henri and I danced close to the hallway where the resting seats were incase they needed something.

"_Masquerade! Grinning yellows, spinning reds_

_Masquerade! Take your fill, let the spectacle astound you_

_Masquerade! Burning glances, turning heads_

_Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you_

_Masquerade! Seething shadows breathing lies_

_Masquerade! You can fool any friend who ever knew you_

_Masquerade! Leering satyrs, peering eyes_

_Masquerade! Run and hide, but a face will still pursue you._" I watched Meg, Madame Giry, Andre and Firmin, Piangi and Carlotta walk down the stairs, I wasn't within earshot, but I knew what they were singing. Meg was dressed as an angel, all in white, Madame Giry dressed, as usual, in a black dress but wore a cobwebby shawl, I guessed she was a witch or a spider. Piangi was a sultan and Carlotta was just in a matching dress. All the managers had were capes. Talk about festive.

"_What a night_!" Madame Giry.

"_What a crowd!_

_Makes you glad_

_Makes you proud_

_All the creme_

_De la creme._" Andre and Firmin sang together

"_Watching us, watching them._" Carlotta said snobbishly.

"_All our fears are in the past._" Meg had a sweet voice.

"_Three months_" Andre.

"_Of relief_!" Piangi cried.

"_Of delight_!" Carlotta sang. They deserved each other.

"_Of Elysian peace!_

_And we can breathe at last_." Only for a bit, managers.

"_No more notes._" Carlotta spat the word.

"_No more ghosts._" If only you knew Piangi.

"_Here's a health._" Madame Giry raised an invisible glass.

"_Here's a toast_

_To a prosperous year_

_To our friends who are here_." The managers hung on the arms of the girls they were with. Gross.

"_May the splendour never fade!_" Why couldn't Erik've gotten rid of the both of them?

"_What a blessed release!_" They patted themselves on the back.

"_And what a masquerade_." Madame Giry spun the fan and masked her face. I waved Meg over and we began to catch up. I heard Raoul and Christine come back to sing the second half of the song.

"_Think of it_

_Our secret engagement._

_Look, your future bride._

_Just think of it._" She played with the ring around her neck, looking nothing short of elated.

"_Why is it secret?_

_What have we to hide?_

_You promised me._" He tried to kiss her, but Christine turned around, searching the shadows, trying to spot Erik.

"_No, Raoul,_

_please don't,_

_they'll see._"

"_Well then let them see._

_It's an engagement, not a crime._

_Christine, what are you afraid of?_" She shook her head. They began to sing and overlap.

"_Let's not argue(Let's not argue)_

_Please pretend (I can only hope)_

_You will understand in time (I'll understand in time)_!" Soon they were spinning again with the crowd and blended in. Raoul managed to snag a kiss just before the crescendo of the song and we all went to do the group dance number, the end of the song.

"_Masquerade!_

_Paper faces on parade_

_Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you_

_Masquerade! Every face a different shade_

_Masquerade! Look around, there's another mask behind you_

_Masquerade! Buring glances,turning heads_

_Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you_

_Masquerade! Grinning yellows, Spinning reds_

_Masquerade! Take your fill, let the spectacle astound you._" We held our hands to our faces, blocking it from view and taking steps here and there, lunging out at the people who did not know the dance. Together we pretended to hide our faces from the world. We lifted our arms in the air, ready for the grande finale when there were gasps and pointing to something behind us. The easy smile on my face dropped. There was only one thing that could make everyone go silent.

The Phantom of the Opera.

I spun around and backed away like Christine and Raoul and everyone else smart enough. Our eyes locked for a minute before I looked away. Erik was dressed in all red with the exeption of his black belt and boots. He wore a skull mask that covered his deformity completely and scared anyone who looked at it and a sharp silver sword at his hip. He was truly the Red Death.

"_Why so silent, good monsieurs?_

_Did you think that I had left you for good_?" He slowly descended from the stairs, building the tension in the room. I could feel my hands begin to shake. Heri put his hands on my arms, trying to comfort me.

"_Have you missed me, good monsieurs?_

_I have written you an opera._" He held his masterpiece for us all to see.

"_Here, I bring the finish score._

_Don Juan Triumphan_t!" He drew the sword and threw the score at the feet of the managers who hastily picked it up in terror of what he would do next.

"_Fondest greetings to you all_

_A few instructions just before rehearsal starts_:" Raoul ran off from Christine's side and patted her the know he had gone, she seemed frozen. Where was he going at a time like this?

"_Carlotta must be taught to act_

_Not her normal trick of strutting 'round the stage_." Carlotta gasped in indignation and terror as he fiddled with the feathers in her hair. Piangi, bless him, ran to defend her but was met with a sword to his stomach.

"_Our Don Juan must lose some weight_

_It's not healthy in a man of Piangi's age_." Piangi looked down, he almost looked like he was about to cry.

"_And my managers must learn that their place is in an office_

_Not the arts_." Both of them looked sallow and about ready to pass out. All in all it was pretty funny. He looked to Christine who flinched under his gaze and beckoned her to him. Too scared to disobey she walked forward until she was in front of him staring at his boots.

"_I can see your loyalty is lost._" He hissed and pulled the ring from her neck and brandished it before her eyes.

"_The part of Aminta,_

_Sweet and delicate,_

_Shall be played by our lovely_

_Danielle BellRose_." I felt my stomach drop to my knees and my heart launch into my throat. _What?_ Everyone began to whisper and all the eyes turned to me.

He turned his gaze to me, and willed me to come forward. I was shaking on the inside, but I threw my shoulders back and walked as gracefully as I could until I stood right in front of him.

"_Each song of hers,_

_More graceful yet,_

_Than that of our aspiring countess._

_A spirit not so willing to betray_

_As that of Christine Daae_!" He spat the words at her and she shook and flinched.

"_So sing,_

_My sweet soprano,_

_Sing_!" I felt his voice put me in a trance like state, but strangely I didn't care. All there was was Erik and me and the strangely familiar song.

"_Cantero' per te il mio angelo,_

_E solo per te._

_Guidami verso il trono della musica_

_E mi tengono al sicuro_" I hugged my body, remembering his warm hugs.

"_Nella tua luce oscura._" I looked up at him and smiled; why had I been mad at him in the first place?

"_Sussurrando tuo potere mostra_

_Dammi una eternità della tua canzone_

_Una vita con la tua voce._

_Abbracciami e non lasciarmi mai andare._" He held out his hand and I took it. He pulled me until our bodies were touching.

"_Your voice shall forever be in my favor._

_I know your secrets,_

_I know your soul._

_Your talent in burning_

_Like an inflamed coal_." He delicately brushed a loose strand of hair from my eyes.

"_So sing to me my soprano,_

_Sing of the truth you see,_

_Sing of your hopes and dreams,_

_Sweet soprano sing of me_!" He spun me around to face the crowd and I put my arms out to sing the beautiful Italian lyrics.

"_Angelo della musica,_

_Toccare mi._

_La mia passione si raffeloza_

_Mi e' stato monstro i mostri di questo mondo_

_Eppure io voglio le tue mani insanguinate ad accarezzarmi_," I ran my hands from my face down my body.

"_E passare il punto dinon ritrono con voi._"

I held the last note as long as I could. _This _was how singing was supposed to be. Everything was so perfect. I could hear Erik breathing behind me and feel his warm breath on my shoulder. Everything was perfect in the world for that one minute.

Christine pulled me out of my trance and away from Erik. I looked around, eyes wide and alert. There was a rush of someone coming down the steps from above. The spell was shattered. Erik pulled me in close to him and whispered "You belong to me!" before turning and disappearing into the trap door beneath the staircase in a puff of red smoke and Raoul jumped in after him. _He had gone to get his sword and tried to sneak up on him_! That was a great idea, but it hadn't worked and now Raoul was under the Opera in Erik's mirror maze and I was standing there with all eyes on me and only half an idea of what had happened.

Of all the eyes in the crowd Carlotta's were the largest and full of knowing. What had just happened?

**This chapter took me forever but it's done! Finally done! These chapters are usually only seven pages in google docs and this one is seventeen. SEVEN FUCKING TEEN. I DON'T EVEN KNOW. It's 3:10 in the morning, I'm going to bed. Everyone belongs to their rightful owners, Sweet Soprano belongs to me, name the chapter it's first mentioned in and get an internet cookie! Review! I expect lot for this chapter. Seventeen pages, goddamn.**


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